Each Black History Month brings the inevitable telling of the story of Ruby Bridges who, at the young age of six, became the first Black child to be integrated into the New Orleans school system. We’ve all seen the pictures of little Ruby, accompanied by US Marshalls, on her first day of school at William Frantz Elementary School in November of 1960. If you are like me, you have looked into the eyes of the angry white crowd and felt disgust at their visible (and audible) outrage. How could people have so much hate in their hearts that they would pull their children out of school or, in the case of the teachers, refuse to come to work, due to the presence of a Black first grader?
We share with you an interview with Ruby Bridges, now a 68-year-old author and civil rights activist. We hope you will enjoy hearing Ruby’s story, in her own words, as much as we did. From the podcast, A Slight Change of Plans, with Maya Shankar.
A 6-Year-Old Changes History | A Slight Change of Plans (pushkin.fm)
To learn more about Ruby Bridges or to support her efforts, go to:
Civil Rights Leader – Ruby Bridges
If you have an area of interest or topic that you would like to learn more about, please reach out to Carrie Grummons or Wendy Leon-Gambetta by emailing us at takeaction@newtownallies.org