Ruby Bridges was only 6 years old when she was thrust into the headlines by breaking the color barrier, becoming one of the first Black students in an all-white elementary school in New Orleans more than 60 years ago.
But Bridges is telling her firsthand story to children who are the same age now as she was when she made history.
Bridges has published “I Am Ruby Bridges,” a story for readers as young as 4 years old, The Associated Press reported.
“It’s a true reflection of what happened through my own eyes,” Bridges told the AP.
She called it her “most personal book yet,” USA Today reported.
On Nov. 14, 1960, Bridges was escorted by four federal marshals into William Frantz Elementary School. The school had been segregated, even after the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was unconstitutional in 1954 the same year that Bridges was born. Bridges was met on the school steps by a crowd of white people yelling at her, the AP reported.
The moment was captured by Normal Rockwell’s “The Problem We All Live With.”
The parents whose children were supposed to be in class with Bridges were pulled from the school, so she was alone in the classroom with her teacher, Barbara Henry. Henry — who is white — and Bridges are still friends to this day, the AP reported.
Books by or about Bridges have been on lists of books that have been banned in several school districts over the debate of teaching about racial issues in classrooms.
Her book, “This Is Your Time” had been listed on a list of books to be reviewed by Spring Branch ISD in Texas, according to KTRK, and had been among the 850 books Rep. Matt Krause had compiled to be cataloged in schools. Books about Bridges were also banned in some classes in Pennsylvania and Tennessee, the Houston Chronicle reported in April.
Still, Bridges is hopeful that her latest writings are added to elementary school libraries.
“I’ve been very, very fortunate because of the way I tell my story that my babies come in all shapes and colors, and my books are bestsellers, and maybe banned in schools,” she said. “But I think parents really want to get past our racial differences. They’re going to seek out those books.”
“I Am Ruby Bridges” was illustrated by Nikkolas Smith who said the story resonated with him.
“I was always one of the few Black faces in my elementary school, and I knew that Ms. Ruby was a huge reason why there was any progress at all,” Smith said in a news release, according to USA Today.
Bridges wasn’t the only child in New Orleans whose education became national news at the time. Gail Etienne, Leona Tate and Tessie Prevost all attended McDonogh No. 19.
“I Am Ruby Bridges” was published by Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., and is on sale now.
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