A Child Walks to School. This is Beauty. This is Grace. This is Courage.

[sheshe2]

Last edited Mon Sep 9, 2013, 12:04 AM - Edit history (1)

Happy Birthday! Ruby Bridges is 59 today.







Born on September 8, 1954, in Tylertown, Mississippi, Ruby Bridges was 6 when she became the first African-American child to integrate a white Southern elementary school, having to be escorted to class by her mother and U.S. marshals due to violent mobs. Bridges’ bravery paved the way for continued Civil Rights action and she’s shared her story with future generations in educational forums.

When Ruby and the federal marshals arrived at the school, large crowds of people were gathered in front yelling and throwing objects. There were barricades set up, and policemen were everywhere. Ruby, in her innocence,first believed it was like a Mardi Gras celebration. When she entered the school under the protection of the federal marshals, she was immediately escorted to the principal's office and spent the entire day there. The chaos outside, and the fact that nearly all the white parents at the school had kept their children home, meant classes weren't going to be held.

Ostracized at School

On her second day, the circumstances were much the same as the first, and for a while it looked like Ruby Bridges wouldn't be able to attend class. Only one teacher, Barbara Henry, agreed to teach Ruby. She was from Boston and a new teacher to the school. "Mrs. Henry," as Ruby would call her even as an adult, greeted her with open arms. Ruby was the only student in Henry's class, because parents pulled or threatened to pull their children from Ruby's class and send them to other schools. For a full year, Henry and Ruby sat side-by-side at two desks working on Ruby's lessons. She was very loving and supportive of Ruby, helping her not only with her studies, but also the difficult experience of being ostracized.

Ruby Bridges's first few weeks at Frantz School were not easy ones. Several times she was confronted with blatant racism in full view of her federal escorts. On her second day of school, a woman threatened to poison her. After this, the federal marshals allowed her to only eat food from home. On another day, she was "greeted" by a woman displaying a black doll in a wooden coffin. Ruby's mother kept encouraging her to be strong and pray while entering the school, which Ruby discovered reduced the vehemence of the insults yelled at her and gave her courage. She spent her entire day, every day, in Mrs. Henry's classroom, not allowed to go to the cafeteria or out to recess to be with other students in the school. When she had to go to the restroom, the federal marshals walked her down the hall. Several years later, federal marshal Charles Burks, one of her escorts, commented with some pride that Ruby showed a lot of courage. She never cried or whimpered. "She just marched along like a little soldier."

http://www.biography.com/people/ruby-bridges-475426?page=2





What an incredibly amazing child. My heart weeps for what she endured, yet my heart soars for her sweet strength to overcome the hatred and prejudice. Thank you Ruby Bridges.



Edit to add Video

***********************This is Posted in The Barack Obama Group*********************

[Marie Marie]

1. Beautiful story and pics.

Thanks sheshe2.

[sheshe2]

3. She is an amazing woman Marie~

Thank you, she makes the story beautiful.

[NYC_SKP]

2. Recommended. NT

[longship]

4. R&K Saw this in another post the other day.

Happy to support a second thread.

[sheshe2]

5. I missed that one longship.

I have trouble keeping up with my work schedule.

Thanks for the support~

[longship]

6. No worries, my friend.

[sheshe2]

8. Thanks longship~

[FourScore]

7. Thanks for the wonderful thread, sheshe2!

Such a wonderful and motivating story. Such a brave child!

[sheshe2]

9. Thanks FourScore.

A brave child that became a remarkable woman.

[Warpy]

10. I remember watching that

and being astonished at how much dignity a little six year old possessed that the braying crowd would never realize they didn't have a scrap of.

I always wondered what happened to her.

I also loved the painting Rockwell did of the experience. That painting shamed a lot of fence sitters into shutting the fuck up because it focused on the little girl, the US marshalls present only as torsos and legs.

[sheshe2]

14. Grace and Dignity.

You are right Warpy.

Here is a video where she meets one of her Marshals.

Civil rights icon Ruby Bridges thanks US Marshal who protected her so she could attend all-white school in 1960
Read more at http://www.onenewspage.com/n/US/74w12j8up/Civil-rights-icon-Ruby-Bridges-thanks-US-Marshal.htm#l3dApzbLv8hezfI3.99

http://www.onenewspage.us/n/US/74w12j8up/Civil-rights-icon-Ruby-Bridges-thanks-US-Marshal.htm

[Shemp Howard]

11. Bridges recently met with one of the Marshals that escorted her.

One of the four US Marshals who escorted Ruby Bridges on that day is still alive. He is Charles Burks, now 91. Bridges recently reunited with Burks.

The heartwarming article is here.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/ruby-bridges-marshal-photo_n_3877473.html

[sheshe2]

17. Thank you Shemp,

and welcome to DU and The Barack Obama Group!

Beautiful link and I thank you for that.

"Every time I walk down the hall past those pictures, it reminds me of those days. It was something great and dramatic in my life. I tell my grandchildren it was one of the highlights of my life. And I'm glad I was involved."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/ruby-bridges-marshal-photo_n_3877473.html

[livetohike]

26. Welcome to DU and BOG!

Wonderful first post .

[gopiscrap]

35. Welcome to DU

[Iliyah]

12. WOW

real life history

[calimary]

13. It's almost embarrassing to read - the torment this little girl endured!

Shit.

What pure courage and class and nobility. Just a child and she had to deal with all of that dreadful shit. Those people who ostracized her and tormented her and threatened her - I hope whoever they are, wherever they are, they're hanging their heads in shame before God.

[sheshe2]

21. Calimary

I agree~

[Iwillnevergiveup]

15. My goodness gracious

The party dress and the little anklets and Mary Janes really grabbed me. What a sweet, precious child Ruby was. And up until now, I didn't realize she sat in a school by herself for one year. Kudos to her, her parents, the marshals and the teacher who helped her through that trying time.

Thanks for posting - remarkable story and photos.

[sheshe2]

22. Iwillnevergiveup~ You are welcome.

Thank you, neither will I!

[freshwest]

16. Beautiful uplifting thread of a strong woman posted by another strong woman, beautiful, graceful and

Last edited Mon Sep 9, 2013, 02:07 AM - Edit history (1)

brave woman, held safe in the arms of a heavenly love that brought her safely through the gauntlet. It was meant to be, it was the will of god, or what might be justice and goodness. It was a time of an irresistible force for human good.

I remember seeing this on television and I strongly identified with her. She dressed like me and other than her coloring, her look and smile was like mine. But those faces full of hate...

I have never forgotten the demonic faces and the hatred shown to her. It sounds crazy, but I felt like it was me. Such confusion, chaos and insanity.

I saw no reason for the hatred, and those people really scared me, as many of the other attacks in those days. Should I not have internalized this or found common cause with the haters because of the color of my skin?

Some might think I should have gone with the crowd, but I am not made of that kind of stuff. It's unnatural, abhorrent, a vision of death to me. I'm sure some might have been swayed with their view of the world. It will always be to me an intense feelling of horror, terror, all of it.

What I saw in those days was the face ofr hell on Earth, created by humans. I am not afraid of dying and going to hell. Hell is here, it comes from the human heart, and I am tired of it.

I was as deeply moved by this today as I was then. A new generation may see this as a neutral event. I never could.

Thanks for turning this into something beautiful, Sheshe. You always do.

[sheshe2]

18. A child freshwest.

A sweet beautiful child. At six she showed more dignity and grace than so many that surround us.

She walked with her head held high. Did she understand what was happening at that time? No, not completely. Yet every child is shaped by what surrounds them. They feel the pain, they feel hate, they understand rejection. They understand. That will shape their future.

Ruby Bridges made a choice, she chose to overcome the hate.

She is now chair of the Ruby Bridges Foundation, which she formed in 1999 to promote "the values of tolerance, respect, and appreciation of all differences". Describing the mission of the group, she says, "racism is a grown-up disease and we must stop using our children to spread it."[

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Bridges

From the Ruby Bridges Foundation.

Vision
A Child of Courage, a Woman of Determination


On November 14, 1960, surrounded by armed US marshals, six-year-old Ruby Bridges integrated William Frantz Elementary in New Orleans. Many already know Ruby and her story. Norman Rockwell’s painting, “The Problem We All Live With” remains a quintessential image of the Civil Rights Movement. John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America also includes a description of Ruby walking past angry mobs to enter school. Robert Coles penned a 1995 book, The Story of Ruby Bridges, and soon after Walt Disney Home Entertainment produced a television movie based on her life. The movie received the honor of being screened in the White House, and on January 8, 2001 President Bill Clinton presented Ruby Bridges Hall with the Presidential Citizens Medal. In 1999, Ruby published her own award-winning memoir, Through My Eyes.

In addition, a public school in Alameda, California honored Ruby by naming Ruby Bridges Elementary School after her. The school opened on October 27, 2006.


Ruby's likeness is part of the "Remember Them" monument
One of the world’s largest children’s museums, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, has focused on the importance of Ruby Bridge’s story and created a permanent exhibition entitled “The Power of Children,” which has become an icon of the museum. The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the lives of three children who faced profound trials and emerged as heroes of the 20th century—Ruby Bridges, Anne Frank, and Ryan White. All three of these children’s stories exemplify Ruby’s belief that every individual can make a difference.



Thank you freshwest. I thank you for what you said.

[IrishAyes]

23. What you said.

[Matilda]

19. What an amazing child!

It's hard to imagine how a child of that age could go through those horrors and come out intact.

Kudos also to Mrs Henry - a teacher worthy of the title. And to her mother, who must have suffered so much watching her baby go through that ugliness, but stayed strong for her.

[sheshe2]

20. You are so right Matilda~

Dignity and Grace in someone so young. She puts us to shame.

Mrs Henry, yes. A teacher that is so worthy of her title.

Thanks Matilda!

[IrishAyes]

24. I'm old enough to remember those days clearly

And they did so much to shape the course of my own life. For that I'm ever deeply grateful.

How anyone could hate such a beautiful, courageous little child appalled me then as now. I grew up wanting be BE more like her. High reach, I admit, but a worthy goal.

So far (at 9:20 a.m.!) this is on track to be a very pleasant day but nothing, nothing on earth could be better than this. Bless you for such an uplifiting OP.

[sheshe2]

27. Good morning Irish.

I needed the lift too.

Her beauty, courage and dignity all wrapped up in her six year old body was and still is inspiring.

About her teacher, Mrs. Henry.

Barbara Henry is an American teacher who refused to leave her teaching job when parents, students, and teachers decided to leave their elementary school to protest the desegregation of schools in New Orleans in 1960. Henry was the first teacher in the Frantz Elementary School who was willing to teach an African-American student, Ruby Bridges.

Mrs. Henry was accustomed to a diverse world experience from her travel and teaching experiences in Europe, not to mention her own education at Girls’ Latin School in Boston, a microcosm of the City of Boston where “we learned… to appreciate and enjoy our important commonalities, amid our external differences of class, community, or color.” Prior to moving to New Orleans she had taught in an overseas military dependents schools which were integrated.Henry had been living in New Orleans with her husband for just two months when a call came from the superintendent offering her a teaching position. When Henry asked if the job was in a school that would be integrated, the superintendent replied, “Would that make any difference to you?” She said no.

In New Orleans, in 1960, the young teacher Henry frequently passed through a mob of protesters shouting racist insults and threats. "That was the reality in 1960 for both Ruby and Barbara. Ruby was six years old, and the first black student to help integrate the William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. Barbara, her white teacher, was a newcomer to the city and its schools."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Henry

[IrishAyes]

29. Barbara was a newcomer to NO

and a damnYankee to boot. I've always found it notable that in an area with a large number of abused minorities, they can often be more welcoming than the priviliged dominant group. Maybe it's partly because they know firsthand what it feels like to be ostracized. Poor people give a larger percentage of their slim assets to charity than other groups as a whole, too. Sociological, statistical fact. Sorry I can't provide direct links to studies, but they're out there. So much for that vile saying, "Poor people have poor ways." Next time I hear that, I'm liable to pin some ears back.

[sheshe2]

30. Damn Yankees~

Thanks Irish~

[Sheepshank]

25. I'm on the verge of tears.

Racism and hate so blatant just 50 years ago. I know there are many people that still feel this type of hatred, but thankfully, in many cases racists keep their mouths shut purely out of societal pressures. Clearly not all the time, but more often. Obama hatred has recently emboldened people to ressurect hate rhetoric, they are feeding off of each other. BUT I do believe it's the last dying gasps of those that haven't figured it out yet. Because of that,
the fight continues for a while longer......and I so don't understand why this even has to be a fight? Why are people so full of hate?

[3catwoman3]

31. I hope you are right...

...that it is the last dying gasps. The virulence is still so strong in some that it worries me.

[Cha]

28. Valuble lessons from Ruby Bridge, she~

"The Lesson I took away was none of know anything

about not liking one another.. it is passed onto us when we come into this world."

"Never look at another person and judge them by the color of their skin".

Happy Birthday belated birthday wishes to Ruby Bridge and a heartfelt thank you for all your inate wisdom as a child, the strength to endure the ignoance of those who hate solely on the color of other people's skin, and your continuing example of grace, courage and strength for humanity.

Mahalo, she, for a beautiful OP on Ruby Bridge~

[grantcart]

32. Sorry I missed it

I had an excuse:

I was in an airplane all day long!!

Tks

[sheshe2]

33. Sweet~

Thanks grant.

Excuse more than acceptable.

I am too exhausted after work most of the time to do more than rec a thread. Looking at the clock now, yikes! I have to get up in 5 hours.

[treestar]

34. that real photo of her makes me cry

sweet little girl having to go through that.

They kept their kids home the first day and she was still segregated in the school. Just unbelievable how those southerners tried to hang onto segregation and resisted to the utmost even when the law had held they were wrong!

[gopiscrap]

36. How cool!

[gopiscrap]

37. Does anyone know what has happened to Barbara Henry?

[sheshe2]

38. Hi gopiscrap...

She was here in 02.06.2012~

Barbara Henry Gives Keynote at Black History Month Assembly
Posted 02/06/2012 03:21PM


Barbara Henry, a Boston native and retired educator, gave the keynote presentation during the annual Black History Month assembly on Monday, February 6, 2012.

Henry, a white woman, rose to prominence during the Civil Rights Movement for her refusal to leave New Orleans’ Frantz Elementary School during a desegregation protest on the first day of classes in 1960. As her colleagues and students left upon the arrival of Ruby Bridges, an African-American student, Henry stayed in her classroom. For the remainder of the school year, the parents of the white students assigned to Henry’s class staged a boycott of the teacher, but Henry was not deterred. She arrived each day and taught Bridges. Near the end of the school year, three white children were added to the class.

Henry described what it was like walking through the mobs of angry people each day. She related how even her fellow faculty members treated her with disdain. Undaunted, she kept going, knowing what she was doing was right, and allowing faith and love to guide her.

Student speakers set the stage for Henry’s presentation, providing the historical background which led to the landmark court case “Brown vs. The Board of Education” and the events that followed. Video clips highlighting Ruby Bridges and her thoughts on Barbara Henry’s decision to stay and teach her were also included as part of the event. Finally, the music of the Dana Hall Gospel Choir, under the direction of David Coleman, and St. Sebastian’s student Marlon Matthews ’14, accompanied by Meyer Chambers, greatly complemented the speaking portion of the assembly.

http://www.stsebs.org/page.cfm?p=548&newsid=197

[gopiscrap]

39. Thank you that is great

if you're interested look up the story of Rev. Ed King he was a United Methodist minister who never got a call to his own parish because he used to go with other religious folks (black and white) and go to all white churches and want to integrate their worship services. As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week."

[sheshe2]

40. Thank you, gopiscrap

I will look up, Rev. Ed King.

Great MLK quote BTW~

[gopiscrap]

41. I use some of his quotes when I have to preach

my favorite is: "The arc of the moral universe tends to bend towards justice"

[niyad]

42. k and r

[sheshe2]

43. ...