Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges was born on September 8, 1954 in Tylertown, Mississippi. She lived there until she was four, then they moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. Ruby was the first black to go to an all white school, William Frantz School. Ruby’s dad didn’t want blacks and whites to mix together. He thought the racist people would hurt her and her family if she went to the “white” school. Ruby’s dad even lost his job, because his boss felt that somebody who had a black child going to an all-white school should not be working for him. Ruby’s mom on the other hand wanted her to go to the all-white school; she wanted her to have a better education. Ruby’s mom had a tough childhood and she didn’t want Ruby to follow the same path.

Most of the white people didn’t want “blacks” to go to the all white school, because they didn’t think that they should be treated equal. Some threatened to poison Ruby, and hurt her if she went to that school. Ruby went to William Frantz School, the white school, when she was six, because she passed a very hard test. When she started U.S Marshalls brought her to and from school and protected her from the white people that wanted to harm her. Ruby saw people dragging their kids out of the classroom, because they didn’t want their white child going to school with a black. The white parents and kids protested outside of the school.

Her second day of school, she sat in the classroom and all of the white parents took their kids out of school, because they didn’t want them going to school with a black. Mrs. Henry, Ruby’s teacher, was kind to her. She helped/supported Ruby through the difficult time. On the third day Ruby’s mom didn’t go with her. Ruby was the only one in her class, and she was taught on a whole different floor of the building from the other kids. Some teachers and even the principal thought she shouldn’t be taught with the whites. Ruby didn’t know why she was treated so differently, after awhile she started to wonder. After winter break Ruby started seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Coles. He was another supporter of Ruby, so was his wife.

After Ruby graduated she became a travel agent. After Ruby’s brother was killed in a drug-related shooting she began to realize what she did when she was younger, really helped the blacks. That’s when she began to help troubled black children. She actually started volunteering at the William Frantz School. She helped make the school stronger by developing the Ruby Bridges Foundation. Ruby travels to school telling kids about the importance of reading, the power of education, and integration of races.

Disney actually made a movie about her experience of being the first black to go to an all-white school. In 1995 a book called The Story of Ruby Bridges. When Mrs. Henry, her 1st grade teacher, saw the book she contacted her. Ruby and Mrs. Henry reunited on the “Opera Winfrey Show.” That was a great joy to Ruby. She also had contact with her old child psychiatrist. Dr. Coles. There was taping of Ruby on the TV series “Eyes on the Prize” a show about the Civil Rights Movement. She soon found out that she was painted in a Norman Rockwell painting. After that Ruby felt her life meant something. She figured out that there was a reason for what she has been through in the past. She played a HUGE part on bringing blacks and whites together.