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Oct 04, 2012
Although it will seem incredible to children today, there was a time when black children and white children could not attend the same school in some areas of the United States. Ruby Bridges grew up in New Orleans during that time. She attended kindergarten in an all-black school far from her home, although William Frantz Elementary, an all-white school, was much closer. The American government had recently declared that black children were to be allowed in every school, and on November 14, 1960, her mother took Ruby, now a grade one student, to the William Frantz School. For their safety, they were accompanied by five marshals. They were met by a noisy, threatening crowd as they neared the school and went in, but Ruby wasn’t afraid. In the following days, every other student in Ruby’s class was withdrawn from the school, and she was left alone with her teacher. However, they became good friends. Ruby enjoyed learning and Mrs. Henry helped her to deal with the difficult experience of being ostracized. Gradually, the other children began to return to the classroom, and Ruby made many friends among them. In subsequent years, children from many black families were able to attend the school without controversy. Today, Ruby is a confident mother of four sons who has returned to the William Frantz Elementary School as a volunteer. She is not bitter about her childhood experience there, and she has made numerous public speaking presentations, accompanied by Mrs. Henry, her grade one teacher. Ruby’s inspiring story has been the subject of books, a movie and at least one song, and her first day at William Frantz School was the subject of a famous Norman Rockwell painting,entitled “The Problem We All Live With”. In this book, Ruby’s compelling story is retold as an “easy reader” for beginning readers, complete with photos. It’s important that people of all ages are aware of the segregation which once existed in the United States and of the efforts by people like Ruby to end it.