An Extra-Ordinary Little Girl: Ruby Bridges
Source: http://empowering-girls.blogspot.com/
Can you imagine attending a class alone…just you and your teacher every day for one year because no one else wants to be around you? Indescribable! Ruby Bridges, a courageous six-year old girl managed to attend her “class of one,” and she never missed a single day for one whole year.
Ruby Bridges was the first African-American child to integrate in a white school, the William Franz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1960. Her father was against the idea for her to join the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) integration program in schools. However, her mother believed that her participation in the program would make a great difference on the future African-American schoolchildren and the African-Americans as a race.
When Ruby attended her first day in class, her mother told her to behave and not to be afraid. Her mother accompanied her to school and Five Federal Marshalls had to escort her into the school just to make sure that white people will not harm her. That day, a large angry crowd picketed outside the school, yelling (she shouldn’t dare enter ‘their’ school), throwing things at her and a woman in the crowd even brought a black doll in a coffin. Another woman threatened to poison her.
Ruby just walked with the Federal Marshalls like a little soldier, she thought the gathering was because of Mardi Gras. She didn’t know that people were angry because she was attending a white school.
White parents at the time didn’t want their kids to be educated with a black girl so they decided to pull out their kids out of school, leaving Ruby the only child in class. Not a single teacher from William Franz Elementary School want to teach her.
A teacher from Boston Massachusetts, Mrs. Barbara Henry accepted to teach Ruby. For one year, she only had one student…all the teachers hated her but she never stopped teaching Ruby. She was kind to her, patiently and lovingly teaching her every day. They became very close…
The following year, the situation became different, white children went back to school and many black kids enrolled at William Franz Elementary School. However, the school did not hire back Mrs. Henry to teach so she returned to Boston. She kept a picture of Ruby…admiring the little girls’ courage and dedication to be educated despite the hatred of society towards her and her family.
Ruby is considered a hero…a great of example, a true inspiration for every young girl who displayed true bravery, courage, and dedication towards education.
