Ruby Nell Bridges Hall, born on September 8, 1954, in Tylertown, Mississippi, became a pivotal figure in the American Civil Rights Movement at a remarkably young age. She is widely recognized as the first African American child to attend the formerly whites-only William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, a courageous act that took place on November 14, 1960, amidst the New Orleans school desegregation crisis. Her bravery and resilience
in the face of intense opposition made her a symbol of the struggle for racial equality in education, forever etching her story into the annals of American history.
Early Life and the Call for Integration
Ruby Bridges was the eldest of five children born to Abon and Lucille Bridges. Her early years were spent in Tylertown, Mississippi, but when she was four years old, her family relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1960, at the age of six, her life took an extraordinary turn when her parents responded to a request from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). They volunteered Ruby to participate in the integration of the New Orleans school system, a decision her father initially approached with hesitation.
This decision was made against a backdrop of significant social and legal upheaval. The landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which declared segregated public schools unconstitutional, had been finalized in 1954, just months before Ruby's birth. However, many southern states, including Louisiana, were highly resistant to implementing this ruling. The Orleans Parish School Board, under pressure from the federal government, administered an entrance exam to students, an effort that some believed was intended to prevent black children from attending white schools.
The Historic First Day
In early 1960, Ruby was one of six black children in New Orleans who passed the rigorous entrance exam, qualifying them to attend the all-white William Frantz Elementary School. While two of the six children chose to remain at their original school, Ruby proceeded to Frantz by herself. Three other children, Gail Etienne, Leona Tate, and Tessie Prevost, were transferred to McDonogh No. 19 Elementary School. On November 14, 1960, the first day of integrated schools in New Orleans, all four six-year-old girls were escorted to school by federal marshals.
Ruby's arrival at William Frantz Elementary was met with a hostile crowd. She later described the scene, recalling, "Driving up I could see the crowd, but living in New Orleans, I actually thought it was Mardi Gras. There was a large crowd of people outside of the school. They were throwing things and shouting, and that sort of goes on in New Orleans at Mardi Gras." Despite the chaos, former United States Deputy Marshal Charles Burks observed her remarkable composure, stating, "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."
A Year of Isolation and Resilience
Upon Ruby's entry into the school, white parents immediately withdrew their children. All the teachers, with the exception of one, refused to teach while a black child was enrolled. Barbara Henry, a teacher from Boston, was the only one who agreed to teach Ruby. For over a year, Henry taught Ruby alone, treating her as if she were instructing an entire class. On that first day, Ruby and her mother spent the entire day in the principal's office due to the tumultuous environment.
The boycott began to break a day later when a white student entered the school, escorted by his father, Lloyd Anderson Foreman, a Methodist minister. Other white parents gradually followed suit, and the protests eventually subsided. However, Ruby remained the sole student in her class for the remainder of that year. Each morning, as she walked to school, she endured threats and taunts, including one woman who threatened to poison her and another who displayed a black baby doll in a coffin. These threats led the U.S. Marshals to restrict Ruby to eating only food brought from home and prevented her from participating in recess, highlighting the extreme measures taken to ensure her safety and the profound isolation she experienced during this critical period of her education.
Support and Sacrifice
During her challenging first year at Frantz, child psychiatrist Robert Coles volunteered to provide counseling to Ruby, meeting with her weekly at her home. Coles later authored a children's book, "The Story of Ruby Bridges," in 1995, donating the royalties to the Ruby Bridges Foundation to support impoverished New Orleans schoolchildren. The Bridges family faced significant hardships for their decision; Ruby's father lost his job, their grocery store refused them service, and her grandparents, who were sharecroppers in Mississippi, were evicted from their land. Despite these immense sacrifices, the family also received support from various community members, both black and white, who provided a new job for her father, babysat, protected their home, and even walked alongside the federal marshals' car during Ruby's daily trips to school.
