Happy 60th birthday to Ruby Bridges! As a six-year-old, Ruby
Bridges famously became the first African American child to desegregate an
all-white elementary school in the South. When the 1st grader walked to William
Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans on November 14, 1960 surrounded by a
team of U.S. Marshals, she was met by a vicious mob shouting and throwing
objects at her.
One of the federal
marshals, Charles Burks, who served on her escort team, recalls Bridges'
courage in the face of such hatred: "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. She never cried. She didn't whimper.
She just marched along like a little soldier. We were all very proud of
her."
Once Ruby entered the
school, she discovered that it was devoid of children because they had all been
removed by their parents due to her presence. The only teacher willing to have
Ruby as a student was Barbara Henry, who had recently moved from Boston. Ruby
was taught by herself for her first year at the school due to the white
parents' refusal to have their children share a classroom with a black child.
Despite daily harassment,
which required the federal marshals to continue escorting her to school for
months; threats towards her family; and her father's job loss due to his
family's role in school integration, Ruby persisted in attending school. The
following year, when she returned for second grade, the mobs were gone and more
African American students joined her at the school. The pioneering school
integration effort was a success due to Ruby Bridges' inspiring courage,
perseverance, and resilience.