Ruby Bridges and Her Family: the Life of Activism

On November 14, 1960, an African American, 6-year-old girl, Ruby Bridges, is walking to William Frantz Elementary School, an all-white public school in New Orleans. She is wearing a white dress, white shoes and socks, and has a white hair tie. Ruby’s holding two books and a ruler in her left hand down by her side. She is boxed in between four white US marshals, who are all men, who do not have heads. All four marshals have their left foot in front while Ruby has her right foot in front showing that she is out of step with the dominant group. Each man has a bright yellow band around their left arm which says “Deputy US Marshal”. They each have black shoes and light-colored suits that almost blends into the pale wall in the background Right above the US marshal’s hand on the wall is written “KKK”. The first marshal has a writ that is the court order to accompany Ruby to school in his pocket. Right above Ruby’s head is the derogatory word “NIGGER” in caps. There is a red splatter down the wall from a thrown tomato which is on the ground. Everyone’s right arm are at a ninety degrees angle, with their hand in a fist position.

Historical Context: During the 1960s many political and social movements occurred including the Civil Rights Movement. A major goal of the Civil Rights Movement was the desegregation of public schools and that goal was supported by the lawyers from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). They had been working on this goal for decades and strategize to bring local lawsuits to court because they knew that trying to get a change on the national stage would take many smaller wins arguing that separate was not equal and that every child, regardless of race, deserved a first-class education. The local lawsuits were combined into the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that outlawed segregation in schools in 1954. But the vast majority of segregated schools were not integrated until many years later. Many interviewees of the Civil Rights History Project recount a long, painful struggle that scarred many students, teachers, and parents some physically and all mentally. One of the problems with these efforts to get a successful local lawsuit included having children and parents who were willing to confront the school board and face the ridicule from those opposed to integrated schools. There was not uniform interest in being the test case because of the violence and threats of violence against the families and schools. One school was burned down twice in 1965 for attempting to integrate black students into an all-white school and parents often pulled their white students from integrated schools to establish all-white private academies, again setting up segregated schools. So the courage that was shown by Ruby Bridges' family, particularly her mother, was active resistance to the predominant narrative of separate but equal that was perpetuated in the white media and school board discussions.

Later in life Ruby Bridges said, “Eventually my mother convinced my father that despite the risks, they had to take this step forward, not just for their own children, but for all black children.”Background: When Ruby was in kindergarten, she was one of many African-American students in New Orleans who were chosen to take a test determining whether or not she could attend a white school. It is said the test was written to be especially difficult so that students would have a hard time passing. The idea was that if all the African-American children failed the test, New Orleans schools might be able to stay segregated for a while longer. This suggests that whites believed blacks were less intelligent by making them take a test and assuming that none would pass. Ruby lived a mere five blocks from an all-white school, but she attended kindergarten several miles away, at an all-black segregated school that had fewer resources for teaching their students as compared with her local school When Ruby and the federal marshals arrived at the school, large crowds of people were gathered in front yelling and throwing objects. There were barricades set up, and policemen were everywhere.

Ruby, in her innocence, first believed it was like a Mardi Gras celebration. This childlike response was such an innocent negation of racial expectations. She thought the noise was part of a celebration that she had experienced before not the hardened hatred of racism. When she entered the school under the protection of the federal marshals, she was immediately escorted to the principal's office and spent the entire day there. The chaos outside, and the fact that nearly all the white parents at the school had kept their children home, meant classes weren't going to be held. Fortunately for Ruby, there was a teacher, Mrs. Henry, who was able to step out of her expected role to deny Ruby and spent part of the year teaching her one-on-one. Near the end of the first year, things began to settle down. A few white children in Ruby's grade returned to the school. Occasionally, Ruby got a chance to visit with them. By her own recollection many years later, Ruby was not that aware of the extent of the racism that erupted over her attending the school. But when another child rejected Ruby's friendship because of her race, she began to slowly understand. By Ruby's second year at Frantz School it seemed everything had changed. Mrs. Henry's contract wasn't renewed, and so she and her husband returned to Boston. There were also no more federal marshals; Ruby walked to school every day by herself. There were other students in her second-grade class, and the school began to see full enrollment again.

No one talked about the prior year that broke the racial barrier with a little black girl who attended classes by herself most of the year. The invisible conversations that were around the New Orleans community started to shift slightly. It seemed everyone wanted to put the experience behind them. Ultimately suggesting that whites do not want to face racism. Analysis… Martin Berger points out that the white press supporting the civil rights movement tried to frame the movement as non-threatening and showed the blacks involved as having limited power. The iconic painting of Ruby Bridges fits this description because white marshals are exercising power over the dignified little black girl as they escort her with the court order readily available to show to the angry crowds who shouted and threw garbage. In reality, Ruby did not march to school by herself with marshals but was also accompanied by her mother but that would not be as strong of a narrative of innocence and bravery as the solo child. It also generated sympathy among northern white liberals who fought the excess of the racist Jim Crow systems. Presenting a picture that blacks needed white allies to end segregation and promote opportunities such as equal education was an example of hegemony. While the painting by Rockwell memorialized and set up a new agenda for the civil rights movement it was also relatively non-threatening with the small, angelic-looking subject. She is a symbol of the nonviolent message that was part of the contextual message that the NAACP and many civil rights leaders wanted to promote on the positive while also gaining sympathy with the violence promoted by policy and whites on peaceful marches and protests.

Ruby Bridges is in a white dress and pigtails with white ribbons and white socks and sneakers that make her look like an angel, pure, and innocent in the painting. The fact that Ruby Bridges is in a white dress emphasizes her race. This is contrasted with the actual plaid dress and black shoes that she wore to school that first day.(cite) Her white dress is contrasted by the red tomato smashed on the yellow wall that was thrown by protesters. The strong light-dark contrasts further the painting's racial theme. In addition, the painting deliberately puts the protagonist, Ruby, in the slightly off-center position that draws the viewer's eye to her surrounded by the four white marshals for protection. She is surrounded by these white men whose faces are invisible to symbolize the invisible hand of justice. But it could also be a reference to the Ku Klux Klan that also hides their faces. The reference to the Klan is reflected on the wall in pale graffiti on the wall where Ruby is walking. Moreover, they could be considered law enforcement, showing they are above racism. Since there are four white men who are taller and bigger in size the painting shows white authority/power over blacks. Although they are protecting Ruby Bridges from violence, they are also constraining her in away. Thus suggesting that blacks need help from whites in order to do something. We do not know the political perspective of the Marshals accompanying Ruby but we do know that they are depicted with armbands and lockstep like the Nazi police who accompanied the Jews from their homes. The marshals must have been tense because of the importance of trying to get Ruby safely to school with all the protesters on the streets. Their fists are clenched which shows the tension of the situation. This is also contrasted with Ruby’s natural position holding her school books and ruler. The red highlights from the tomato thrown at the group against the drab wall and suits of the marshals and draw the viewer's eye to Ruby’s white dress and then the background with the N-word scrawled on it. This blatant display of racism was part of the discourse going on in society that surrounded the application of the new rules for school integration.

Ruby’s expectation of what her new school experience would be is shown by her readiness with a new ruler and composition book and her fixed stare straight ahead that avoids the protesters, garbage splatters, and graffiti. Although it appears calm, the environment surrounding her walk to school was anything but calm. “I remember thinking it was Mardi Gras,” Bridges said, of the volatile day that was so full of chaos and noise. She had experienced the joy of Mardi Gras as an innocent child and did not know that the crowds surrounding her walk were not there to cheer her on. The environment was dangerous for Ruby Bridges and her family so her real name was not known until many years later.