On November 14 1960 Ruby Bridges made history She was the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school Ruby was born in 1954 That year the Supreme Court ruled schools should be desegregated Black students could attend the same schools as white students Before 1954 black students in Southern states often had to attend separate schools All-black schools were often overcrowded They did not get the same materials as students in white schools By 1960 Ruby was ready to enter first grade in New Orleans Louisiana Ruby was going to make history She was going to be the first black student at William Frantz Elementary School RUBY BRIDGES CHALLENGES RACISM Ruby was the first black student to attend an all-white school in New Orleans Louisiana 1 4
On her first day Ruby had protection from federal police officers She needed it As she walked to school six-year-old Ruby was met with hatred Crowds of people shouted racial slurs at her Some even threatened her life Ruby made it into the school But she was the only student in her class Many white parents were angry They did not want their children to be in class with a black student They took their children out of school Ruby spent the day with her teacher Barbara Henry For the entire year Ruby was Henry’s only student By the end of the summer though white parents had become less angry They allowed their children to go back to school In second grade Ruby finally had other classmates As an adult Ruby shares her story She talks about her experiences with racism She wrote a book about her first day of school It is called Through My Eyes She started the Ruby Bridges Foundation It educates people about racial tolerance MS HENRY Barbara Henry was Ruby’s first grade teacher She grew up in Boston Massachusetts But she taught in Louisiana She was the only teacher who agreed to teach a black child at Ruby’s school Henry was kind to Ruby She made her feel comfortable But Henry moved back to Boston after that year Ruby’s school did not invite her back to teach the next school year 4 Number of federal police officers who walked Ruby to school Ruby was the first black student to attend an all-white school in the South People called her nasty names and threatened her She now educates people about racism 5
Millions of people around the world have read The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank wrote it during the Holocaust She was a teenager at the time Many children today have learned about the Holocaust through Anne’s writings Anne was born in Germany in 1929 Her family was Jewish In 1933 Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party took control of Germany The Nazis were anti-Semitic They blamed Jewish people for Germany’s problems Under Nazi rule Germany’s Jews were poorly treated The Franks decided to leave Germany Anne’s family moved to the Netherlands in 1933 They lived a normal life until 1940 That year the Nazis invaded the Netherlands In 1942 Anne’s older sister was ordered to go to a Nazi death camp They went into hiding to remain free Anne’s family lived in a hidden apartment behind her father’s LIFE IN THE SECRET ANNEX Anne’s family lived in the Secret Annex with another Jewish family There were eight people living in the small apartment No one could leave the apartment or go outside Friends of Anne’s father helped them They brought them food and clothes They also gave everyone in the Secret Annex news about the outside world ANNE FRANK WRITES ABOUT HER HOLOCAUST EXPERIENCE 2 6
business They called it the Secret Annex Anne wrote in a diary about her experiences and her feelings Anne kept writing until the Nazis captured her family in 1944 She died in a Nazi camp a year later She was just 15 years old A woman who helped hide the Franks kept Anne’s diary Anne’s father published it in 1947 The book is available in many languages Middle and high school students around the world still read it THINK ABOUT IT A diary can include all of your private thoughts and feelings about your life You can talk about things you can’t tell anyone else Why do you think Anne kept a diary while hiding from the Nazis 4 Months Anne spent in a Nazi camp before her death in February 1945 Anne and her family fled Germany to escape the Nazis While living in the Netherlands Anne began writing in her diary People continue to learn about the Holocaust from Anne’s diary Anne’s father Otto holds an award honoring the sale of 1 million copies of Anne’s diary 7
