How was the fate of a black girl who attended white school 60 years ago when it was impossible

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Sixty years ago, a little girl, unknowingly, challenged the vicious system of dividing people into first and second grade. It may seem that that attack is a thing of the past, but no - it's just that other people and even other children are now in the place of a six-year-old black student of a school for whites. But racial segregation, in any case, was defeated, as evidenced by the life story of Ruby Bridges.

Why Ruby shouldn't have attended the William Franz school

In the United States of the 1950s, conflicts between supporters of segregation and its opponents became extremely acute. This concerned primarily the southern states. The order that existed since the abolition of slavery clearly divided citizens by skin color into two categories, the very "first and second grade".

Black Americans could not visit the same establishments as whites, they were entitled to separate shops, separate schools, hotels, cafes, even military units. In transport, blacks were assigned separate seats. If the bus occupied all the seats for whites, then the newly entered passengers had to be replaced by blacks. For attempts to violate the established restrictions, one could end up behind bars or even worse - become a victim of a lynching. Actress Hattie McDaniel, who played the role of Mom in the film "Gone with the Wind" other actors.

Nevertheless, the situation changed, but on paper the rights of the black population were recorded much earlier than they were embodied in real life. In 1954, a Supreme Court ruling ended racial segregation in schools. In the same year, Ruby Bridges was born in Tylertown, Mississippi, a girl who will become a symbol of the struggle of African Americans for equal rights with other citizens.

And in 1957, nine black schoolchildren tried to get into school in Arkansas, taking advantage of the fact that the formal ban on co-education of students with different skin colors was lifted. At the entrance, a crowd of aggressive-minded residents were waiting for the children, and in addition, soldiers, with weapons in their hands, blocked the entrance to black students. After the intervention of the federal authorities, the "nine" nevertheless began training, but the bullying by white students and threats from their parents did not disappear.

First school day

Ruby Bridges was born on September 8, 1954. Her parents, Lucille and Ebon, moved to Louisiana in search of better-paying jobs when the girl was two years old. Ruby was the oldest of five children. As was customary at the time, she attended a kindergarten for the "colored." In 1960, at the initiative of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which had existed since 1909, it was decided to test several black children to determine whether they were able to study in white schools. Ruby, who at the time was six years old, successfully passed the exam, and with her - five other small black Americans.

All six of them passed the certification, but then the families of two students decided to leave the children in the old school, three more were transferred to another. Ruby was the only black girl to attend the William Franz School in New Orleans. In a school that had previously only been for white children, the decision of whether to send their daughter to school was not an easy one for the Bridges. The father objected, the mother insisted on giving Ruby the opportunity to get a good education, and besides, to help other black children to follow this path. On November 14, 1960, with some delay in relation to other students, Ruby Bridges went to school for the first time in her life, and the school for the first time was preparing to accept a black student within its walls.

The scandal was predictable - right after the news of Ruby's enrollment in this school came, many parents took their children from there and transferred them to other educational institutions. The teachers refused to continue working. There were even threats - so several federal marshals accompanied Ruby on her way to school. This was ordered by the President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower. This time, too, a crowd gathered in front of the school, consisting mainly of the parents of the students; threats were shouted at Ruby, but, as Bridges herself later recalled, she was not frightened, since what was happening reminded her very much of the Easter holiday of Mardi Gras.

Ruby Bridges spent her first day of school in the principal's office because of the chaos in and around the school. Then her studies began, and during the entire first year the girl studied alone in the class. Barbara Henry became the teacher who agreed to give Ruby a lesson - day after day she taught lessons for her only student as if the whole class was around. But the boycott ended much earlier - just a few days later, Priest Lloyd Anderson Foreman brought his five-year daughter Pam, followed by other parents. Threats against Ruby Bridges, however, continued to come, for this reason the marshals accompanying the girl allowed her to eat only the food she brought from home. To cope with fear and insecurity, Ruby prayed on her way to school on her mother's advice.

The consequences for the family, for society and for Ruby herself

For the Ruby family, her education at the white school did not go unscathed. The father lost his job, the mother was no longer allowed to go to the store where she used to buy groceries. Grandparents were kicked out of the farm where they lived and worked for several decades. But the family received no less support. Local residents guarded the Bridges house, helped the girl get to school. The father was offered a new job. And most importantly, many white families continued to take their children to the school where Ruby studied. Later, Ruby learned that the beautiful school dress in which she went to her first lesson was bought thanks to the financial help of supporters of the abolition of segregation - the Bridges themselves would allow such a purchase. themselves could not.

In 1964, the famous American artist Norman Rockwell, who for decades created the covers of the Saturday Evening Post, illustrated what was happening that day in New Orleans with a painting. He titled his work "The Problem We All Live With." On the wall along which the girl is walking, you can see the abbreviation "KKK" - that is, the Ku Klux Klan - and now the offensive name for blacks (N-word), now banned for use in America. This illustration appeared in another magazine, Look.

Ruby Bridges graduated from elementary school, then high school, after which she worked as a travel agent for fifteen years. Today she still lives in New Orleans - now with her husband Malcolm Hall and four sons - now the world has changed - so much so that black Americans have access not only to education, but also to the highest government office - the President of the United States. Ruby Bridges became one of those who helped make progress.

As an adult, Bridges continued her social activities. In 1999 she founded the Ruby Bridges Foundation with a mission to promote tolerance, respect and acceptance of all differences. In 2011, President Obama invited Ruby to the White House, then a Rockwell painting moved there for several months, decorating the walls near the Oval Office.

The success stories of those who faced discrimination and still won are especially respectable. Therefore, perhaps, Morgan Freeman is so loved all over the world - a person who knows how to dream correctly.