Ruby Bridges

On November 14, 1960, Ruby Bridges was scheduled to enter William Frantz Public School. There was a huge crowd of people surrounding the school, shouting and throwing things. Once Ruby made it into the school, escorted by federal marshals, she spent the entire first day sitting in the office with her mother.

During the day, parents continued to show up, pulling their children out of school because they refused for their children to be educated alongside a black child. All of the teachers, with the exception of one, Ms. Barbara Henry, refused to teach Ruby.

She became Ruby’s teacher, and her only student for the entire year was Ruby. Ruby and Ms. Henry became very close, but Ms. Henry’s decision to teach Ruby caused her to be ostracized from the rest of the staff who treated her badly.

Each day Ruby continued to walk through the jeering crowds of people. One woman threatened to poison Ruby. Another woman in the crowd held a coffin that had a black baby doll inside. Ruby’s mother suggested that she begin praying on her way to school, so Ruby did do this.

A child psychiatrist named Robert Coles provided counseling for Ruby while she was at William Frantz Elementary. He met with her once a week in her home and later wrote a book about her called The Story of Ruby Bridges.

By the end of the first year, a few white children had returned to the school, but they were not with Ruby. They had their own classes. Ms. Henry was not asked to return, so she moved back to Massachusetts. She never forgot about Ruby, and the two were reunited in adulthood. Ruby is now Ruby Bridges Hall, and she still lives in New Orleans today.

She worked as a travel agent and then later became a fulltime mom to her four sons. She is currently the head of the Ruby Bridges Foundation, which was created in 1999. Its goal is to teach tolerance, appreciation of differences, and respect.

Learn More... http://www.rubybridges.com/ http://rubybridgesfacts.com/