Ruby Bridges
By: William Lecy
Table of Contents
- About Ruby Bridges
- Problems faced in society
- What school was like
- Later on in life
-How we can Help
Intro
Ruby Bridges is a well known historical figure that changed
america forever. She changed civil rights for african american kids to go to
school. Throughout this book you will learn about ruby bridges, the
problems she faced, what school was like, later on in life, and how you can
help. Ruby Bridges has changed america forever and will go down in
history!
About Ruby Bridges
Ruby Bridges is a historic person that changed america at a very
young age. She changed the rights for african american kids. Even when
she was in rough times she continued to fight. In this chapter you will learn
about life before and about the school that she went to!
About family and life before
It all started on September 8, 1954. She was born into an
African American family. She was the oldest of
5 children. Her mother and father were always
moving around the southern states looking for
jobs. In this time in history, there was different
bathrooms and drinking fountains for white
people and black people. This evidence
suggest, that Ruby was not treated fairly
because of the color of her skin.
About the all white school
In 1959 she attended an all black kindergarten,
but it all changed when there was exams passed out so that african
american children could possibly go to school with white kids. She and
another 5 kids passed the exam. Thus we can say that she is very smart.
Her mother wanted her to go to the all white school, but her father did not.
Over time, there parents decided to let her go to the school. In November
1960 she was escorted by 4 federal marshals and she began her journey in
the all white school. She became the first african american student to to a
elementary school.
Problems she Faced
Throughout this whole book, Ruby Bridges has been given many
awards and prizes. Although, it is really fascinating to know what she had
to go through to change america. By the end of this chapter you will learn
the problems that Ruby Bridges went through.
Problems
Ruby Bridges had to go through many problems going to an all white
school. For instance, on her first day to William Frantz Elementary the
parents of the white children swore and threatened her. Some would even
pull their kids out of school. Ruby was not
frightened by these things until she saw a
woman with a black baby doll in a coffin. This
proves, that Ruby was very brave and
determined to help with african american rights
nomader what it took. During her first day, she
spent the whole school day in the principal's
office due to the angry mobs.
How she handled it
Think of all this pressure on a 6 year old. I know that I could not have
done it. Ruby Bridges said “Don’t follow the path. Go where there is no path
and begin a trail. When you start a new trail equipped with courage,
strength, and conviction, the only thing that can stop you is you!”. This
shows, that even though all the adults that were very mean she continued
to do the thing that she thought was right. In the end, we can see that she
is an amazing teen activist.
What School was Like
When people think of ruby bridges people think about how she
changed civil rights through school. Although, this is what she did, but
people also wonder what it was like for her in the all white school. When
you finish this chapter, you will learn what school was like for Ruby Bridges.
Her first day
When we think about Ruby Bridges we don’t normally think about
what she had to do in school. Most people think about civil rights and how
she changed school for african american kids. On the other hand, I want to
think about what school was like for her. In November, 1960 she was the
first african american to integrate to an all white school. If you don't know
what integrate means, it means to bring (people or groups with particular
characteristics or needs) into equal participation in or membership of a
social group or institution. Her first day at William Frantz Elementary was
really bad because she spent the whole day in the principal's office
because of the angry mobs.
Her Teacher
Furthermore, the only teacher that would accept her was Barbara
Henry. Ruby was the only student in her class for the
whole year. For a whole year Ruby and sometimes her
teacher would play outside at recess. Imagine having
no one to play with except your teacher. She also ate
lunch alone, but she never missed a day of school! This
must have been really hard on her, to not meet any
new kids. In the end, she graduated out of high
school and became a travel agent.
Later on in Life
Ruby bridges changed america at a very young age. Now that she is
older, it is very interesting to know what she is doing to help the community
now. In this chapter you will learn what Ruby Bridges is doing now to help
the world.
Life after
In life, Ruby Bridges continued to fight for civil rights, but when she
graduated out of high school she became a travel agent, married, and had
4 sons. In addition, in 1999 she established the Ruby
Bridges foundation to promote tolerance and create
change through education. This means that she had to
take care of a family, be a travel agent, and also start a
fund. This evidence suggest that she was a very
hardworking person.
Awards
As a result of making the Ruby Bridges foundation, she did it because
her brother died because a drugs or drug related. To add on, in 2000 she
was made a honorary deputy marshal in Washington D.C. during a
ceremony. This means that she is a very hardworking, brave, and smart
person and she is still doing amazing things today at the age of 64!
How we can Help
This book is not just about what Ruby Bridges did. It is also about
how we can help. THis chapter is very important because it is taking what
Ruby Bridges did and applying it to our
lives. By the end of this chapter you will
learn how you can help in your
community.
In life many people just see what
these amazing activist are doing and do
nothing to try and help them, but I am
hear to tell you that we need to help!
How do we help? To help we can try to
take what she did and accept everyone
into our world. To add on, it doesn't
matter what the color of your skin, or
that you have a disability. We need to take what Ruby Bridges did and
respect everyone and let everyone have equal rights!
Conclusion
Throughout this book we have learned all about Ruby Bridges
and how she changed civil rights. We have learned about Ruby
Bridges, the problems she faced, what school was like for her, later
on in life, and finally how we can help. Researching this has taught
me how cruel people could be, but also how people can overcome
bad things. Hopefully we all will learn from this and make good
decisions in the future.
Glossary
Civil Rights:
The rights of citizens to political and social freedom and equality
Mobs:
A large crowd of people, especially one that is disorderly and intent
on causing trouble or violence
Activist:
A person who campaigns to bring political or social change
Integrate:
Combine (one thing) with another so that they become a whole
Established:
Set up (an organisation, system, or set of rules) on a firm or
permanent basis
Disability:
A physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements,
senses, or activities
Works Cited
“Biography.” Ducksters Educational Site,
[Link]/history/civil_rights/ruby_bridges.php.
“Ruby Bridges.” National Women's History Museum,
[Link]/education-resources/biographies/ruby-bridges.
“Ruby Bridges.” [Link], A&E Networks Television, 24 Jan. 2019,
[Link]/people/ruby-bridges-475426.
