First African American in All-white School: Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges impact on society is tremendous. She opened a path for future generations of black students, and was an inspiration to those of all ages. She was one of the first African American to step into an all-white school at a very small age. She taught society that having a strong will and the right amount of strength has no size or age barrier. The life and impact of Ruby Bridges is analyzed in this essay.

Ruby was born in Tylertown, ms on September 8, 1954. Ruby’s parents were Abon Bridges and Lucille Bridges. Ruby’s parents moved to New Orlean hoping to start a better life in a bigger city. Ruby had two younger brothers and a younger sister. She went to school in William Frantz Elementary School starting kindergarten at the age of 6 on November 14, 1960. Her mom and U.S. marshals escorted her to class due to violent large crowds. Ruby went to school around the time of segregation which cause hardships in her childhood. Some of the hardships that Ruby has faced in her childhood was taunts and daily crowds surrounding the front of the William Frantz Elementary School. When Ruby was in kindergarten she was given a test to see whether or not she should have the right to attend the all-white school. Supposable the test was hard so the kids would have hard time passing it. In 1960, Ruby’s parents were called by the NAACP and they said she was one of the sixth girl to pass the test. Ruby was the first African American child to attend an all-white Elementary school in New Orleans. “Barbara Henry, a white native, was the only teacher willingly to accept Ruby”. While at the school, Bridges was taught in a vacant classroom. In 1961, William Frantz Elementary School enrolled several more Black students. Women worked to push the pro-integration public opinion following the Brown V. Board ruling, seeing 6.28 million African-American enrolled into public schools by 1968.

Ruby Bridges was married to Malcolm Hall in 1984 at New Orleans. She had three children, who were Craig Hall, Sean Hall, and Christopher Hall. She lived in New Orleans even after getting married. Ruby bridges were a author after getting married to Malcolm Hall. Some of the books that Ruby Bridges wrote were “Through My Eyes” and “Ruby Bridges Go to School: My True Story.” When she got married, Ruby worked as a travel agent for 15 years. In 2014, a statue of ruby was displayed outside of William Frantz School. She was later reunited with her teacher Barbara Henry. Ruby Bridges made a lasting impact on American society by taking the first step into a all-white school in William Frantz School.

Ruby Bridges was a inspiration to kids of all ages and size. She opened a door for the future generations of black students. Why this person’s contributions were important and know for was because if it wasn’t for us, the black students going to this school wouldn’t even have been here Ruby Bridges amalgamated the school, which today most of us take granted going to school. I like researching Ruby Bridges impact for my essay, as this person had made a big change in American Society by desegregating the schools. Today in life in most cases some of us take school as granted.