Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges an American activist and the first black child to desegregate William Frantz Elementary School in New orleans, Louisiana in 1960

(P) On December 5, 1960 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Ruby Bridges started her third week as the first African American child to attend the newly integrated William Frantz school despite the many boycotts going on by angry white families ("Ruby Bridges Enters Newly Integrated School").

(S and Q) At first, Ruby's father was reluctant to let her attended school but her mother wanted to give her a better education and truly believed that she should go in order to "take this step forward ... for all African-American children" ("Ruby Bridges").

(P) Due to the extreme racism Ruby faced, she had to be escorted to the school by marshals everyday while insults and threats were thrown at her from the angry crowd but as the year continued the crowd lessened and the following year several more African American students had enrolled to the school ("Ruby Bridges").

(Q) "She showed a lot of courage. She never cried. She didn't whimper. She just marched along like a little soldier, and we're all very very proud of her" ("Ruby Bridges").

(P) Some of the extreme racism that Ruby faced included parents pulling their kids out of school and even teachers refusing to teach a black child however, one teacher named Barbara Henry did volunteer and she taught Ruby alone ("Ruby Bridges").

(S) Ruby's family also experienced much injustice like her father losing his job, her grandparents being kicked off their land, as well as being banned from entering their local grocery store. However as the year went on, more and more people began to show their support for the family by helping them out in various ways such as giving her father a job and volunteering to babysit Ruby's siblings ("Ruby Bridges").

(Q) “I saw barricades and police officers and just people everywhere. And when I saw all of that, I immediately thought that it was Mardi Gras. I had no idea that they were here to keep me out of the school” ("Ruby Bridges Goes to school").

(S) Protests began to subside as the year continued but Bridge's life was still difficult. One woman threatened to poison her everyday as she walked to school and another woman even showed up with a black baby doll inside a coffin. According to Bridges, this sight, "scared me more than the nasty things people screamed at us" (A Tribute To Ruby Bridges").

(S) After graduating from a desegregated high school, Ruby became a travel agent as well got married and had four sons. In the 1990's she reunited with her first teacher Mrs. Henry and they did speaking engagements together. Ruby continued on to publish two books and receivethe Carter G. Woodson Book Award.

(Primary Source)

Works Cited

"4 Dec 1960, Page 6 - Lake Charles American-Press at Newspapers.com." Newspapers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

Angry Protesters. Digital image. Rare Historical Photos. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

"National Women's History Museum." Education & Resources - National Women's History Museum - NWHM. N.p., 05 Feb. 2010. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

"Ruby Bridges." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 08 July 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

"Ruby Bridges Enters Newly Integrated School." American Government, ABC-CLIO, 2017, Americangovernment.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/641772. Accessed 21 Mar. 2017.

"Ruby Bridges Goes to School." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

Ruby Bridges Smiling. Digital image. PBS. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

"Ruby Bridges." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Mar. 2017. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.

"Ruby Bridges." Britannica School, Encyclopædia Britannica, 15 Feb. 2013. Accessed 21 Mar. 2017.

"A Tribute To Ruby Bridges - The First African-American To Attend a White Elementary School." AmericasFootprints.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

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Ruby Bridges an American activist and the first black child to desegregate William Frantz Elementary School in New orleans, Louisiana in 1960

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