Ruby Bridges was born in Mississippi to a family that was very poor. Toward the end of the year, the crowds began to thin, and by the following year the school had enrolled several more Black students. In 2011, the museum loaned the work to be displayed in the West Wing of the White House for four months upon the request of President Barack Obama. Ruby Bridges, in full Ruby Nell Bridges, married name Ruby Bridges-Hall, (born September 8, 1954, Tylertown, Mississippi, U.S.), American activist who became a symbol of the civil rights movement and who was, at age six, the youngest of a group of African American students to integrate schools in the American South. She was eventually able to convince Bridges' father to let her take the test. There were barricades set up, and policemen were everywhere. Soon, a janitor discovered the mice and cockroaches who had found the sandwiches. In 1963, painter Norman Rockwell recreated Bridges' monumental first day at school in the painting, “The Problem We All Live With.” The image of this small Black girl being escorted to school by four large white men graced the cover of Look magazine on January 14, 1964. When Bridges was in kindergarten, she was one of many African American students in New Orleans who were chosen to take a test determining whether or not she could attend a white school. Bridges’ father was averse to his daughter taking the test, believing that if she passed and was allowed to go to the white school, there would be trouble. She then studied travel and tourism at the Kansas City business school and worked for American Express as a world travel agent. She later became a full-time parent to their four sons. Photographs of her going to school inspired Norman Rockwell to paint The Problem We All Live With. After this, the federal marshals allowed her to only eat food from home. There were other students in her second-grade class, and the school began to see full enrollment again. Coretta Scott King was an American civil rights activist and the wife of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Rosa Parks was a civil rights activist who refused to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Engaging photographs and a timeline depict each step in paving the way for other African Americans, from Ruby Bridges's early life through her first steps in an integrated school and her struggles against racism. Coles later wrote a series of articles for Atlantic Monthly and eventually a series of books on how children handle change, including a children's book on Bridges' experience. However, her mother, Lucille, pressed the issue, believing that Bridges would get a better education at a white school. Bridges, in her innocence, first believed it was like a Mardi Gras celebration. The Ruby Bridges Foundation is supposed to "help everyone embrace our racial and cultural differences so that we can move forward", according the Bridges." Fearing there might be some civil disturbances, the federal district court judge requested the U.S. government send federal marshals to New Orleans to protect the children. Bridges would be the only African American student to attend the William Frantz School, near her home, and the first Black child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South. Through Coles’ words and George Ford’s illustrations, readers are enticed by Ruby’s courage and willingness to face adversity. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Updates? Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. She also taught important life lessons. Surprising Never Known … Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. In 1995, Robert Coles, Bridges' child psychologist and a Pulitzer-Prize winning author, published The Story of Ruby Bridges, a children's picture book depicting her courageous story. Ruby would be the only African-American student to attend the William Frantz School, near her home. Her father was initially opposed to her attending an all-white school, but Bridges’s mother convinced him to let Bridges enroll. Her story was told in a TV movie, Ruby Bridges. https://www.biography.com/activist/ruby-bridges. Ruby Bridges is one of my favorite heroes. Bridges also spoke about her youthful experiences to a variety of groups around the country. Thank you 3rd graders for recommending this book! Born on September 8, 1954, Bridges was the oldest of five children for Lucille and Abon Bridges, farmers in Tylertown, Mississippi. It seemed everyone wanted to put the experience behind them. African Americans are largely the descendants of enslaved people who were brought from their African homelands by force…. Ruby also received the Presidential Citizens medal and in 2006 a new elementary school was erected in honor of Ruby in Alameda, California. African Americans are mainly of African ancestry, but many have non-Black ancestors as well. Engaging photographs and a timeline depict each step in paving the way for other African Americans, from Ruby Bridges's early life through her first steps in an integrated school and her struggles against racism. The idea was that if all the African American children failed the test, New Orleans schools might be able to stay segregated for a while longer. Bridges passed the test and was selected for enrollment at the city’s William Frantz Elementary School. On November 14, 1960, her first day, she was escorted to school by four federal marshals. It is said the test was written to be especially difficult so that students would have a hard time passing. Ruby taught the world that you can’t judge a person before you get to know them. Ruby Bridges Now: Still Alive & Thriving! A neighbor provided Bridges' father with a job, while others volunteered to babysit the four children, watch the house as protectors, and walk behind the federal marshals on the trips to school. She had to be escorted to her class by U.S. A table of contents, glossary, further resources, and an index are included. Bridges spent the entire day in the principal’s office as irate parents marched into the school to remove their children. Soon, young Bridges had two younger brothers and a younger sister. At the tender age of six, Ruby Bridges advanced the cause of civil rights in November 1960 when she became the first African American student to integrate an elementary school in the South. She was escorted both to and from the school while segregationist protests continued. Sixty years ago, Lucille and Abon Bridges gave their 6-year-old seemingly mundane advice as she set off for first grade. On November 14, 1960, she was escorted to class by her mother and U.S. marshals due to violent mobs. Bridges' brave act was a milestone in the civil rights movement, and she's shared her story with future generations in educational forums. The Life of Ruby Bridges (Sequence Change Maker Biographies) [Raum, Elizabeth] on Amazon.com. The life of Ruby Bridges continues to this day. Civil rights activist Medgar Evers served as the first state field secretary of the NAACP in Mississippi until his assassination in 1963.