Ruby Bridges was 6 years old in 1960 when she entered first grade at William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, accompanied by U.S. Marshals for her protection. She spent her entire first day — and many others afterward — as the school’s only student after white families pulled their kids our rather than have them learn alongside a Black child.
It’s a powerful story that Bridges recounted Tuesday in a conversation with NBC Bay Area news anchor Marcus Washington at the YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley’s annual Inspire Luncheon fundraiser at the Santa Clara Convention Center.
“Honestly, I’ll never forget that day,” Bridges, 70, told the audience of more than 1,000 people. She remembers people screaming and shouting and waving their hands, but living in New Orleans, she was used to those kinds of displays for a different reason. “That’s what happens at Mardi Gras, so I thought it was Mardi Gras,” she said. “What protected me was the innocence of a child.”
Ruby Bridges, keynote speaker, speaks at the YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley’s annual Inspire Luncheon at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. Bridges, a civil rights icon, was the first Black child to attend an all-white elementary school in Louisiana, making worldwide headlines. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Only one teacher, Barbara Henry, remained to teach her that year and they are still friends, Bridges said.
Bridges started the Ruby Bridges Foundation a quarter-century ago to promote tolerance, and she has shared her experience in speeches and in books and has received a lifetime of awards. But, she warns, the racism that she experienced as a child isn’t exactly a thing of the past and is still extremely dangerous today.
“We have got to come together for our kids,” she said. “Those of use who are of like minds and hearts, we have to come together or we won’t be able to save not only this country, but the world.”
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The YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley also honored the Children’s Advocacy Center of Santa Clara County, a program of the District Attorney’s Office that provides support for children who are victims of abuse and neglect.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Jay Boyarsky, who accepted the award on behalf of the DA’s office, said the …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
