Ruby Bridges (N.J. and M.Y.)
Most people are familiar with Rosa Parks, the African American woman who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Alabama. Few people know about the courageous, young African American girl who at the age of six broke the color barrier at an all-white school in New Orleans. Here is her remarkable story.
- The Court is in the House
- First day of First Grade
On November 14, 1960 it was Ruby Bridges first day of school. 6 year old Ruby was the only African American that walked into William Frantz Public School, an all-white school. Ruby’s mother was all for her going to the new school but her father was against it saying “We’re just asking for trouble” (Ruby Bridges Foundation). At Ruby’s appearance, most of the white parents withdrew their kids from the school. The white parents protested outside the school building and most of them tried to scare Ruby by shouting insults at her, and threatening to kill her. What they said did not scare her. What scared her the most was seeing someone holding a black baby doll and putting it in a coffin. The state police or street police refused to protect her. The government ordered U.S. Marshals to protect her. To avoid little Ruby from getting hurt, the marshals threatened to arrest them if they hurt Ruby. Most of the teachers that worked in that school resigned because they refused to work with that little black girl.
- My First White Teacher
Ruby’s first teacher at William Frantz Elementary School was a white woman named Mrs. Barbara Henry. She was from Boston and eager to teach Ruby. None of the other children came to the class so it was just Ruby and Mrs. Henry. Every day Mrs. Henry would watch Ruby walk into the school and greet her with a hug. Since she was not allowed outside on the playground for recess, the two of them would play games, listen to music and do jumping jacks. Mrs. Henry explained to Ruby about integration and said “it’s not easy for people to change once they have gotten used to living a certain way” (Ruby Bridges Foundation). Neither one of them missed a single day of school that year. Upon returning in the fall for second grade Ruby learned that Mrs. Henry was not invited back to teach and moved home to Boston.
- Hard times for the Family
- The Ruby Bridges Foundation
Ruby Bridges had led an inspiring life and continues to push for equality. Without her strong will and determination as a six year old schools may not be the way they are today. She is someone we can all look up too. 60 years after Brown vs Board, Michelle Obama tells Topeka students they are its “legacy”. Speaking at a high school in Topeka last Friday, Michelle Obama spoke of the triumph over segregation. She spoke of her own family’s past with her mother growing up in Chicago’s segregated schools and ancestors who were slaves. “ Every day we have the power to choose our better history by opening our hearts and minds, by speaking up for what you know is right” (Michelle Obama). There were many diverse faces in the crowd and the speech was welcomed with great applause. “Many districts in this country have actual pulled back on efforts to integrate their schools and many communities have become less diverse as folks have moved from cities to suburbs” (Michelle Obama).
Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JoE1q_hvVWcuy_9UE1bgxOLpmIlr3x3z0zCcAYcayeQ/edit?usp=sharing
Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JoE1q_hvVWcuy_9UE1bgxOLpmIlr3x3z0zCcAYcayeQ/edit?usp=sharing
Ruby Bridges (M.W. and R.K.)
- In 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States of America declared racial segregation in schools to be unconstitutional (Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka.) No African American students enrolled with white students until the school year of 1960. Segregation was a big problem in the United States at this time. Colored people and white people were treated unequally. Ruby Bridges was a big step towards equality in not only the school systems, but in all of the United States.
- Childhood. Ruby Bridges was born on September 8, 1954, in Tylertown Mississippi. Her parents names are Abon and Lucille Bridges. She moved to New Orleans with them when she was just four years old. When Ruby was six, her parents responded to a request from the NAACP and volunteered her to participate in the integration of New Orleans School Systems.
- Taking a Test. When Ruby was in kindergarten, she was one of many African American students in New Orleans who was chosen to take a test, determining if she could attend a white school or not. It said the test was written to be especially difficult so students would have a hard time passing. In 1960, Ruby Bridges parents were informed by officials in the NAACP, that she was one of six to pass the test. Two of the six children stayed at their all colored school and three transferred to Mcdonough, so she had to go to William Frantz by herself.
- Making history. Ruby Bridges was the first black student at the all white school, William Frantz Elementary School, in the American South. Only one teacher at the school agreed to teach Ruby. Her name was Barbara Henry, and she taught Ruby in class by herself for an entire year. Ruby went to school everyday with a good attitude. Even though many people were threatening her she stayed positive and was excited and happy to learn. She wasn’t anxious, irritable or scared, as you may expect.
- Imagine being threatened and tormented for something you didn’t do. Many whites protested as Ruby walked into school. The crowds got so violent that she had to be escorted by U.S. Marshals into the building. One woman put a little black doll in a wooden coffin, and another one threatened to poison her. After this threat Ruby only ate food that she saw her mom prepare from her house. As Ruby walked into school every day she prayed for the people that were tormenting her, and this is what she said, “Please God, try to forgive those people. Because even if they say those bad things, they don’t know what they’re doing. So you could forgive them, just like you did those folks a long time ago. When they said those terrible things about you”(Coles 22).
- Being Accepted. Ruby was a major part of the desegregation of schools. Slowly other African Americans were enrolled at Frantz. By December there were 18 black students there. William Frantz was successfully integrated by Ruby’s second grade year. She no longer had to be escorted to school. Ruby graduated from Francis T. Nicholls, a fully integrated high school in New Orleans. Thanks to Ruby’s bravery the American school system was forever changed
- Being Accepted. Ruby was a major part of the desegregation of schools. Slowly other African Americans were enrolled at Frantz. By December there were 18 black students there. William Frantz was successfully integrated by Ruby’s second grade year. She no longer had to be escorted to school. Ruby graduated from Francis T. Nicholls, a fully integrated high school in New Orleans. Thanks to Ruby’s bravery the American school system was forever changed
- On January 8, 2001 Ruby Bridges was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal. This award is given to distinguished U.S. Citizens. It is the second highest civilian award in the United States of America. She was awarded it by President Bill Clinton. Ruby is currently living in New Orleans with her husband and four children, and she is 60 years old. Although it has been 54 years since Ruby integrated William Frantz Elementary School, America will never forget the heroic deeds she did for our country.
Ruby Bridges (S.K. and A.D.)
Imagine not being able walk through the door of a school without being threatened to be killed. Any other six year old wouldn't have been able to take the extreme hate that Ruby went through. Ruby Bridges was a six year old girl who took part in changing history. She was brave and strong and didn’t let anyone get inside her head. She even went through first grade all by herself, just to prove her determination and perseverance to create za turning point of the civil rights movement. She fought for african american rights simply by attending an all white school. Ruby did something huge, and the world thanks her for that today.
Ruby was born in Tylertown, Mississippi on September 8, 1954. From the time Ruby was born, her parents, Abon and Lucille, wanted God to be a big part of Ruby’s life, “We wanted our children to be near God’s spirit...We wanted them to start feeling close to him from the very start”(Coles, 4). Ruby’s family wasn’t the wealthiest since her dad had just lost his job due to the advance of machines in the farming industry. Shortly after Ruby turned four, her family moved to New Orleans where Ruby’s parents both found jobs that could support their family. Ruby’s dad worked as a janitor and her mom worked as a maid. In New Orleans, Ruby’s original elementary school was Johnson Lockett, a school just for African American students. The walk to this school was extremely far and unnecessary when William Frantz Elementary, an all white school, was a mere five blocks away. The fact that Ruby was not allowed to attend the closer school was unfair and it is what started Ruby’s journey.
In New Orleans, black and white children weren’t allowed to go to school together, even though it was against the nation’s law. In 1960, a well known and respected civil rights organization went on a mission to desegregate public white schools. This organization was the NAACP, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Ruby applied and took a special test to see if she was cut out for this opportunity. 137 first grade students submitted a form to the new Orleans Parish School Board in attempt to attend an integrated school. Four African-American girls were selected after multiple background checks, and Ruby was one of them. Ruby was ordered to attend William Frantz Elementary school and the other three girls were set to attend Mcdonogh 19. Since Ruby was only six years old at the time, her parents knew there would be many risks, “We sat there and prayed to God,” Ruby’s mother said, “ that we’d all be strong and we’d have courage and we’d get through any trouble; and Ruby would be a good girl and she’d hold her head up high and be a credit to her own people and a credit to all the American people…” (Coles 8). Ruby’s first day would be a day never forgotten.
On Ruby’s first day, she experienced what she would experience for many more months. Angry mobs of white people voiced their opinions by protesting in front of Ruby’s school. They held large signs with vicious thoughts. A group of white women known as the cheerleaders would threaten to poison her as she walked to school. Over 5000 people of the White Citizens’ council held a meeting to start protests and boycotts to resist the integration. One of the most popular chants was, “Two, Four, Six, Eight, we don’t want to integrate.”. This taunting didn’t stop inside school either, many teachers and white students left the school when they heard about Ruby. She spent many days sitting in the office, away from the crowds of people who detested her. If Ruby had to use the restroom or get a drink, she had to be escorted. Ruby was in so much danger that Marshals were hired to protect Ruby when she entered and exited school. These marshals wore armbands that said “Deputy U.S Marshal”.
Ruby had thick skin when it came to the people who despised her. She ignored the people who screamed at her, pushed her around, and threatened her. Even though Ruby was going through so much hatred, she came into school every morning with a big smile. Miss. Hurley, one of Ruby’s teachers, noticed Ruby’s positive attitude and wondered how she kept it, “She was polite and she worked well at her desk,” Miss Hurley said. “ She enjoyed her time there. She didn’t seem nervous or anxious or irritable or scared. She seemed normal and relaxed as any child i ever taught” (Coles 14). Everyday, Ruby prayed for the angry mobs who hated her, “Please, God, try to forgive those people. Because even if they say those bad things, They don’t know what they’re doing. So you could forgive them, Just like You did those folks a long time ago when they said terrible things about you” (Coles 24). Ruby’s teacher taught her to read and write all by herself since most the other students had left the elementary. In the picture shown, Ruby is walking into school while ignoring the crowds of people behind her.
During Ruby’s school integration, money became an issue. Ruby’s dad and grandparents lost their jobs and the local grocery store told them to stay far away. Ruby’s family was struggling to get by. Buying food and paying house bills was a tedious task for her family. As weeks passed, the word started getting around that a black girl was attending an all white school. Part of the world was grateful for Ruby and the other part hated her. The ones who were inspired by Ruby sent clothes, money, and toys. These generous gifts came by surprise and were greatly appreciated by Ruby’s family. Ruby’s neighbors on France Street were a big help as well. They helped Ruby get ready in the morning, and walked with her to school. They also guarded their house at night to make sure nothing happened. The Marshals who were ordered to guard Ruby were also a huge help.
In 1999, Ruby founded the Ruby Bridges Foundation in New Orleans to promote tolerance through education. She wanted to represent the people who were segregated and promote racial equality around the world and in the United States. This foundation was inspired by her wanting to help children achieve their hopes and dreams. Ruby also went through a traumatic event in the early 1990s when her youngest brother, Milton, was killed in a drug related shooting. This helped her become aware of the problems people had to deal with in urban areas. This foundation started at Frantz Elementary school, the school that Ruby attended. Everything started with an after school program featuring multi- cultural art classes. Today, The Ruby Bridges Foundation still accepts donations and works to keep her dream a reality.
Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eF_IFxy2nc5nfERVE1XNA-9mYaR9x3oGUDwDbEscNXs/edit?usp=sharing
Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eF_IFxy2nc5nfERVE1XNA-9mYaR9x3oGUDwDbEscNXs/edit?usp=sharing
"Cheerleaders" (A.D. & C.C.)
The Louisiana Cheerleaders during the Civil Rights movement were white, mainly women protesters who didn't want people of the opposite race to have the same rights as them. The cheerleaders would stand outside of public schools and shouted threats to colored students. Ruby Bridges and the Little Rock Nine were students that the cheerleaders threatened, the New Orleans school crisis was one of the reasons the organization was started, Mrs. B.J. (Una) Gaillot was a leader of the cheerleaders group and Daisy Bates braved angry crowds to change the lives of students and our nation.
- Ruby Bridges
- Little Rock Nine
- Mrs. B.J. (Una) Gaillot
- The New Orleans School Crisis
- Daisy Bates
In conclusion, if Ruby Bridges, the Little Rock Nine, Mrs. B.J. Gaillot, the New Orleans School Crisis, and Daisy Bates had not occurred, or been around during this time period, we might still be treating people with colored skin unequally. The United States might not be as accepting and diverse as we are today.
Sources:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZoRsT1rPys8NfRV70o-t0raaLdrxMmK2Ot_vKG4AZlk/edit?usp=sharing
Sources:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZoRsT1rPys8NfRV70o-t0raaLdrxMmK2Ot_vKG4AZlk/edit?usp=sharing
"Cheerleaders" (C.S. & B.D.)
During the civil rights movement in the USA, the white Southerners were notorious for treating the African Americans as unequaled. It could vary from simply yelling racist words of discouragement, physically beating them up, to attacking them with attack dogs. Here are all of these forms of people, actions and more.
- Elizabeth Eckford was just a young black girl who wanted to go to school, but Hazel Bryan was a white girl with a racist fire burning inside to stop Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Eckford was part of the Little Rock Integration in the 1960’s. The white high schoolers were not happy. Hazel Bryan was one white girl who threatened Eckford without thinking. She followed close behind Eckford and taunted her with racial threats when she tried to walk in to school. However, Hazel Bryan wasn’t the only one to threaten Elizabeth Eckford. Other white segregationists held signs saying things like “Go back to Africa” and other white men threatened to hang her. Daisy Bates, a woman who played an important role in the Little Rock Nine Integration, records what Elizabeth told her about her experience in her memoirs."She Walked Alone". “The crowd moved in closer and began following me, calling me names...When I got right in front of the school, I went up to a guard again. But this time he just looked straight ahead and didn’t move to let me pass” (Bates). These whites seem like horrible people, but most were only acting the way they were taught to respond in that segregated society. But they are a select few that made up their own racist opinion, and one man was Orval Faubus.
- When people think of children transferring schools, a friendly principal or administrator is probably in the picture. Not in Little Rock. Although Orval Faubus wasn’t the principal, but a governor, he acted like he owned Little Rock High when it came to black integration.
Orval Faubus was the Governor of Arkansas during the civil rights movement. He was strongly against the integration of schools and did everything in his power to stop it. Surprisingly, his father taught him when he was younger to be tolerant of integration, yet when he went into politics he picked the opposite side. In 1957, Faubus worked diligently to prevent African American students from entering the Little Rock High School. He went as far as getting the National Guard to come to the high school and deny them entrance even though the desegregation of schools was a federal order. Faubus's stand against what he called "forced integration" forced President Dwight D. Eisenhower to send federal troops to Little Rock to enforce the Desegregation law.
- The horrible, racist Eugene “Bull” Connor was the Klan’s man when it came to electing a Commissioner of Public Safety in Birmingham, AL.
- Theophilus Eugene "Bull” Connor was the Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, during the American Civil Rights Movement. His drastic actions to enforce segregation made him known as an international symbol of racism. Connor directed the use of fire hoses and police attack dogs against peaceful demonstrators. This even included children. These tactics backfired when the spectacle of the brutality was broadcasted on national television. This urged the North to take more action against the segregation happening in the South.
- The horrible, racist Eugene “Bull” Connor was the Klan’s man when it came to electing a Commissioner of Public Safety in Birmingham, AL.
- It’s hard for someone to sit helpless and peaceful when the whole world is fighting against them, but that’s what the Greensboro Four and other Sit-in Protesters had to do while the whites fought against them.
- Sit-ins were a peaceful way of protesting white-only service diners that were done by African Americans in more than 30 cities across nine Southern states (Garrow). But it didn’t start out that way. It all started with four young black college students who sat at a diner after school. They were denied service, but they stayed and studied until it was closed. They returned the next day, joined by other protesters. Although they were peaceful, the whites were not peaceful to them. Some whites taunted them by dumping food on them where they sat, called them names and doing the same to any whites who supported them. Many whites physically dragged them off the chairs and attacked them. These altercations often ended with the arrest of the black students instead of the people who started the fights.
Cheerleaders are known for being supportive to their team, but Ruby Bridges’s “cheerleaders” did just the opposite. On November 14, 1960, Ruby Bridges set off for her first day at William Frantz Elementary School. She was the first African American student to be integrated into the school. On her first day, angry white parents withdrew their children from the school and protested. She had to use a separate school bathroom and sat alone at lunch. On her way out, the cheerleaders, a group of about 40 women, were there in front of the school. They were all angry, segregationist women who spat out racial threats to Ruby Bridges, held offensive signs and screamed about the “unfairness” of integration. They came every morning to the school.
Though all of these segregationists were horrible to the African Americans during those times, not all of them are proud of what they have done. Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan have met up years later, and Bryan apologizes, saying: "I was an immature 15-year-old. That's the way things were. I grew up in segregated society and I thought that was the way it was and that's the way it should be" (Roberts). They have now become friends. Hazel Bryan says she does not want to be known for the famous picture and said she would never get over it. Eckford says sometimes she can look at it, but other times she can’t. This is just one example of how if someone is taught what to believe, that is what they will believe. But people can still change and realize that what they have done is wrong, and be sorry for it.
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VhROtuejZ4oaakUFSw9t52sf8fmkmNd8IQhptkbVRqo/edit?usp=sharing
Source: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VhROtuejZ4oaakUFSw9t52sf8fmkmNd8IQhptkbVRqo/edit?usp=sharing