Ruby Bridges and the Desegregation of American Schools
CHAPTER ONE
RUBY’S FIRST DAY On the morning of November 14 1960 six-year-old Ruby Bridges walked up the steps to William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans Louisiana Her mother walked beside her It was Ruby’s first day at the school An angry mob shouted at her Four US federal marshals surrounded and protected her Ruby did not understand why a mob of people was gathered around the school The only thing her parents had told her was that she would be going to a new school and that she had better behave No one had A crowd of white protesters gathered outside William Frantz Elementary School on Ruby Bridges’s first day at the school in 1960
told her that she would be the only black student at the school When Ruby had first arrived at the school she thought the mob was part of a parade Ruby had seen people celebrate the famous Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans They would gather in the middle of the street They would shout and wave their hands To Ruby the mob of people at first looked like they were celebrating Mardi Gras The crowd shouted insults at Ruby But Ruby only became scared when she PERSPECTIVES BARBARA HENRY Barbara Henry was Ruby’s only first-grade teacher at William Frantz Elementary School All other teachers at the school refused to teach Ruby Each day Ruby sat in a classroom by herself Henry taught her in every subject including physical education and music In a later interview Henry remembered We created our own oasis of love and learning We each had hearts free of prejudice That was the bond that united us Henry and Ruby remained friends later in life
In the 1960s and earlier black children had to attend separate schools from white children passed a woman holding a black doll The doll was inside a coffin The image later gave her nightmares She dreamed that the coffin had wings and flew around her bed at night Ruby was rushed inside the building Many people in the crowd flooded in behind her Ruby and her mother took refuge inside the principal’s office Ruby watched through the office’s windows as people pointed and shouted at her Parents took their children out of the school Ruby did not know why they were angry She only knew that she had not been prepared for this
