Ruby Bridges

Ruby as a young girlfamousbiographies.org"Ruby was an extraordinary little girl. She was a child who exuded, I think, courage. To think that every day she would come to class knowing that she would not have any children to play with, to be with, to talk to, and yet continually she came to school happily, and interested to learn whatever could be offered to her." A quote that Barbara Henry, Ruby’s teacher, told Lucille Renwick in an interview for Instructor magazine sums up how Bridges was when she was as a little girl and how she is as an adult. Ruby Bridges was six years old when she made history as one of the first African-American students to enroll at a previously all-white elementary school in the New Orleans public school system in 1960 (“Ruby Bridges”). Although many people in the time of segregation fought, doubted, and hated, she brushed it all off her shoulders and went forward with her dreams for an education. The courageous and fearless young girl Ruby was flipped the whole school system that has affected every adult and child to this day.

The crowds surrounding the school carrying a casket holding a doll representing the threat of Ruby's death.ganzgrade7.wordpress.comRuby Bridges was courageous young girl who didn’t care about people’s opinions. "For a little girl six years old going into a strange school with four strange deputy marshals, a place she had never been before, she showed a lot of courage. . . . And we're all very proud of her" (“Ruby Bridges”). A quote said by Charles Burks, one of the marshals who escorted Bridges on her way to school everyday. The marshals were there to protect Ruby from all the harmful crowds that barricaded the school. “While some families supported her bravery—and some northerners sent money to aid her family—others protested throughout the city. The Bridges family suffered for their courage: Abon lost his job, and grocery stores refused to sell to Lucille” (“Ruby Bridges”). Even though Ruby stayed strong throughout this whole situation, her and her family’s courage still came with consequences. The news about Ruby got so much publicity and hate, her family got refused and denied services. While Ruby and her family suffered consequences, they stayed strong and inspired and proved to young girls, along with everyone else in the world, that courage is a major part of achieving your dreams.

Besides being courageous, Ruby Bridges was also fearless. “Federal marshals escorted her to William Frantz Elementary School every day for the remainder of the school year, and because nearly all of the white parents had removed their children from the school in protest, Bridges was the only student in her first-grade class” (“Ruby Bridges”). While Ruby was the only student in her class, she kept pushing. She knew the reasoning for her being all alone yet she didn’t she still went to school everyday. “Ruby and her mother were escorted by four federal marshals to the school every day that year. She walked past crowds screaming vicious slurs at her” (“Ruby Bridges”). On a daily basis, Ruby had to walk past the ferocious crowds that threatened and yelled at her. Yet, she didn’t fear them or their actions and continued walking to school everyday. Ruby and her mother knew what the crowds thoughts and intentions were for surrounding and guarding the school, but they didn’t let fear stand in the way and everyday they marched passed the mobs.

Ruby as an adult aaregistry.orgMost people would perceive Ruby Bridges as a hero and an inspiration by her courageous and fearless actions. “In 2000 she received the Carter G. Woodson Book Award from the National Council for the Social Studies for Through My Eyes. The following year she was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, the second-highest award that is given to U.S. citizens, following the Presidential Medal of Freedom” (“Ruby Bridges”). She started as just a young, colored girl who no one would expect anything out of. Now, she is a bright and uplifting woman with numerous awards. As someone who is guilty of fearing the confrontation and the judgement of others, it was really inspiring looking back at history and seeing Ruby doing something I could probably never do. As many of us who didn’t know the reality of the start of desegregation, it really opened my eyes seeing what major effects one young student eager to learn can do to the whole country.

Works Cited

"Ruby Bridges." Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 77, Gale, 2010. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1606004555/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=d958b1fb. Accessed 10 Dec. 2018.

"Ruby Bridges." Gale Biography in Context, Gale, 2009. Biography In Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1650006303/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=61e88bd0. Accessed 7 Dec. 2018.

"Ruby (Nell) Bridges." Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2002. Biography In Context,https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1000145191/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=efe52b8c. Accessed 11 Dec. 2018.