William Frantz Elementary School, New Orleans, 1960. “After a Federal court ordered the desegregation of schools in the South, U.S. Marshals escorted a young Black girl, Ruby Bridges, to school.” Note: Photo appears to show Bridges and the Marshals leaving the school. She was escorted both to and from the school while segregationist protests continued. Unknown DOJ Photographer.
Full Name: Ruby Bridges
Birth Date: September 8, 1954
Death Date (if known):Still Alive
Ruby Bridges became a pioneer in school integration at the age of six. She went to an all-white school, for first grade as the first Black student to integrate the school. This historic event took place on November 14, 1960 in New Orleans, Louisiana, only sixty-three years ago!
She was born on September 8, 1954, in Tylertown, Mississippi. She is the oldest of five children. When Ruby was four years old, her parents moved her family to New Orleans, Louisiana. At the time, the New Orleans, Louisiana school system was not yet integrated. When the opportunity came for her to switch schools, to be a part of integrating the school system, her parents were hesitant but decided to allow her to go.
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. Someone was even holding a black baby doll in a coffin. She spent her first day in the principal’s office due to the chaos created as angry white parents pulled their children from school. Some parents withdrew their children permanently. Barbara Henry, a white woman, was the only teacher willing to accept Ruby, and all year, she was a class of one. Ruby ate lunch alone and sometimes played with her teacher at recess, but she never missed a day of school that year.
“I remember hearing voices, but I never saw kids and it kept me wondering where the voices were coming from. If they were real at all. What I did not know is that every time I would mention it to Mrs. Henry, she would go to the principal and advocate for me. She was saying, “The law’s changed and kids can be together now, but you’re hiding them from Ruby. If you don’t allow them to come together, I’m going to report you to the superintendent.” And that forced them to allow Mrs. Henry to take me to where they were being hidden. And that was near the end of the year,” Ruby stated.
Ruby Bridges was still a class of only one at the end of that year, but she began being allowed to play with the white students. As years went on more black students, began to enroll at the school, over time. Bridges went on to graduate from a desegregated high school and become a lifelong activist for equality.
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