Ruby Bridges, the first African-American to attend a white elementary school in the deep South, 1960. Colorized [1600x1390]

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image showing Ruby Bridges, the first African-American to attend a white elementary school in the deep South, 1960. Colorized [1600x1390]

PhilipLiptonSchrute on July 12nd, 2018 at 13:58 UTC »

It blows my mind that this happened when my father was only 5. Reminds me of something my history teacher in college said. He was an older man and said "I walked the world with slaves, meaning that when he was born, there were still really African Americans around who at one time were forced to work fields. I'll never forget that.

whisperingmoon on July 12nd, 2018 at 14:25 UTC »

To expand on the story: no teacher in Ruby's all-white school in Louisiana would teach her, except for Barbara Henry, a recent transplant from Boston. The white teachers in the school refused to educate her or even allow her in their classrooms for an entire year. Said Bridges of Henry later:

I had never seen a white teacher before, but Mrs. Henry was the nicest teacher I ever had. She tried very hard to keep my mind off what was going on outside. But I couldn't forget that there were no other kids.

Incidentally, both women are still alive today.

EDIT: there's a clip of the two together on Oprah in 1996.

The link is here!

Chuffnell on July 12nd, 2018 at 15:11 UTC »

Just read her Wikipedia article, and found this:

"Every morning, as Bridges walked to school, one woman would threaten to poison her, while another held up a black baby doll in a coffin; because of this, the U.S. Marshals dispatched by President Eisenhower, who were overseeing her safety, allowed Ruby to eat only the food that she brought from home."

Real adults threatened to MURDER a six year old, EVERY day.

I really hope these people are so embarrassed and ashamed.