Civil rights icon Ruby Bridges, one of the first Black students to integrate an all-white elementary school in 1960, spoke to nearly 2,000 people at Berry College on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Her conversation, facilitated by Berry student Sydney Layne in the College Chapel was also simulcast to an overflow crowd comprised of students, staff, faculty and community members.
Bridges said she was one of 150 Black children selected to take a rigorous day-long test to make sure they were smart enough to attend the integrated schools.
“I remember taking this test and I remember that because it was the first time that I had taken the streetcar in New Orleans. And that was exciting for me, you know. I really need you all to keep in mind that what protected me was the innocence of a child,” she told the audience.
Only six children were able to pass the test, which Bridges said was set up to eliminate students. Then eventually due to pressure, five of the children dropped out.
“So the first day came, I was still thinking that I am just about the smartest person in the city and I remember that all of my parents' friends came over to the house that morning to dress me for school. It seemed like a really, really big deal. And that did not happen on my first day going to kindergarten,” Bridges said.
There was a knock at the door and four “very tall white men” were standing at the door. “I remember looking at them and thinking to myself, who are they? And who told them I needed to ride?” she said.
The men were U.S. marshals to escort her safely to William Frantz Elementary School.
“The car turned the corner (to the school) and I saw what most of the country saw. Lots of people standing out in front of the school and they were screaming and shouting and were waving their hands and throwing things,” she said, noting that being in New Orleans she assumed it was some kind of Mardi Gras parade.
“How was I to know that the crowd outside was there to harm me, that they didn't want me there? No six-year-old would come to that conclusion unless you told them. And my parents didn't do that. I think that was the best decision for them to make. But it speaks to the fact that racism really is a grown-up disease. Each and every one of our babies come into the world with a clean heart, a fresh start in life. That's our gift.”
Bridges currently works as a Civil Rights activist, author and speaker. She established the Ruby Bridges Foundation to provide leadership and training programs to inspire community leaders to embrace diversity. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in March 2024.
The event at Berry was part of the Conson Wilson Lecture Series and is sponsored by GHD Foundation, Berry’s corporate diversity partner. This school year is also the 60th anniversary of the college’s integration and the start of Be Love Week which is a time to embody Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of service and Berry’s motto, “not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” From January 20–24, 2025, students, staff and faculty will join forces with community partners to focus on housing support, food assistance, and youth development.
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