The image of a young Ruby Bridges entering the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans made her an icon of the burgeoning civil rights movement. What many don’t know is that later in life, Bridges became an activist after an unfortunate twist of fate led her back to the school that transformed her life.
Bridges was born September 8, 1954 in Tylertown, Miss. Her parents moved to New Orleans when she was four, hoping to provide a better life.
In the spring of 1960, after the landmark Brown V. Board of Education decision, Bridges and several other Black students passed a test to enter William Frantz. Despite the legal decision to overturn segregation, execution of the law lagged behind.
That fall, Bridges had to be flanked by four federal marshals and could not eat the school’s lunches because of threats that she would be poisoned. Angry white mobs gathered daily and threats against the little girl and her family were commonplace. While Bridges remembered feeling terrified, an interview of one of the marshals who guarded her commended Bridges on her bravery.
Barbara Henry, a teacher from Boston, volunteered to teach Bridges after white parents at the school pulled their children out of classes. Henry and Bridges established a deep bond.
The following year, crowds died down as both Black and white families stood up to the racist mobs and surrounded Bridges with protection. Bridges was also assisted a child psychiatrist, Harvard University professor Robert Coles. Coles worked weekly with Bridges in those days, and wrote a book about her experience to help others cope with similar problems. (READ MORE)
