Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges

Ruby Nell Bridges Hall (born September 8, 1954) is an American civil rights activist. She was the first African American child to attend the William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis in November 1960. She was just six years old.

Ruby’s brave action helped change laws and attitudes about racial segregation in schools. Her story shows how one person, even a young child, can make a big difference in making the world fairer for everyone.

Her courage is remembered in many ways, including a famous 1964 painting called The Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell. This painting shows Ruby walking to school, symbolizing the challenges she faced and the importance of equality for all children.

Early life

Ruby Bridges was the oldest of five children. Her parents were Abon and Lucille Bridges. As a child, Ruby liked to play jump rope, softball, and climb trees. She also helped take care of her younger brothers and sisters. When Ruby was four, her family moved from Tylertown, Mississippi to New Orleans, Louisiana.

When Ruby was six, her parents let her help make schools more fair. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) asked her family to do this, even though her father was not sure about it.

Background

Ruby Bridges was born in 1954, during a time when people were working hard for equal rights. A big court case called Brown v. Board of Education decided that schools should not separate white and black children. This meant black students could go to the same schools as white students. But many people did not agree with this change.

In 1957, soldiers helped nine students in Little Rock, Arkansas, known as the Little Rock Nine, get into their school safely. Because of this, the school board in Orleans Parish gave tests to students, including Ruby, to try to stop black children from going to white schools.

Integration

Ruby Bridges was an important person in the civil rights movement. In 1960, when she was six, she became the first African American child to go to the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. Her family wanted her to have a good education and help make things fair for all children.

Ruby was one of six black children who passed a test to go to the school, but she was the only one who went to William Frantz. On her first day, she was walked to school by federal marshals because some people were upset. A famous artist named Norman Rockwell painted her story in a picture called The Problem We All Live With. Even though many people made things hard for her, Ruby stayed strong. Most white parents took their children out of the school, and only one teacher, Barbara Henry, agreed to teach her. Ruby was very brave, and after some time, more children started to come back to the school.

Adult life

Ruby Bridges, now called Ruby Bridges Hall, lives in New Orleans with her husband and children. In 1999, she started the Ruby Bridges Foundation. The foundation helps people learn about respect and understanding. Her story has inspired many people. It has even become a song and a television movie.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Ruby helped keep her old school open. In 2007, a museum in Indianapolis made an exhibit about her life. The exhibit showed how she helped make a difference. In 2011, she met President Barack Obama. He praised her important role in history.

Awards and honors

Ruby Bridges got many awards for her important work in civil rights. In 2000, she became an Honorary Deputy U.S. Marshal. In 2001, she got the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Bill Clinton. She also won the Carter G. Woodson Book Award for her book Through My Eyes.

In 2006, she was honored as a “Hero Against Racism.” In 2012, she received an honorary degree from Tulane University. In 2024, she was added to the National Women's Hall of Fame for her big impact on civil rights and education. Two elementary schools—one in Alameda, California and another in Woodinville, Washington—are named after her. A statue of her stands at William Frantz Elementary School.

Published works

Ruby Bridges has written several books about her life. Her first book, Through My Eyes, came out in 1999. In 2009, she wrote Ruby Bridges Goes to School: My True Story about her school days. She also wrote This Is Your Time in 2020 and I Am Ruby Bridges: How One Six-Year-Old Girl's March to School Changed the World in 2022. These books show her important part in history.