Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges – Life, Activism, and Famous Quotes


Learn about Ruby Bridges: how a six-year-old girl became an enduring symbol of civil rights, her lifelong work in education and anti-racism, and her most powerful quotes.

Introduction

Ruby Nell Bridges (born September 8, 1954) is one of the most iconic figures of the U.S. civil rights movement. As a child, she made history by being the first Black student to integrate an all-white elementary school in New Orleans, an act that reverberated across the nation. Her courage at a young age became a symbol of resistance against segregation and a catalyst for change. Over the decades, she has carried forward her mission to promote racial equality, tolerance, and education.

Early Life and Family

Ruby Bridges was born in Tylertown, Mississippi, on September 8, 1954, to parents Abon and Lucille Bridges.

When she was about four years old, her family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana in hope of better opportunities.

Youth, Education & The Path to Integration

By 1960, six-year-old Ruby was among several African American children in New Orleans who passed a special test administered to determine whether Black students could attend white schools. William Frantz Elementary School, which had been all-white until then.

On November 14, 1960, Ruby became the first Black child to attend that school, escorted by U.S. federal marshals for her protection. The Problem We All Live With.

Because of the protests and hostility, Ruby ended up being taught alone in a single classroom by Barbara Henry, a white teacher who volunteered to teach her when others refused.

During that year, the school environment was hostile: white parents withdrew their children, threats were made, and Ruby was escorted daily by marshals. Robert Coles volunteered to counsel her and her family during that stressful time.

Her family also suffered backlash: her father lost his job, and they endured social and economic pressure in their community.

Adult Life, Work & Legacy

After completing her education in integrated schools, Ruby worked for many years in modest jobs—for instance as a travel agent—for about 15 years. Ruby Bridges Foundation, aimed at promoting tolerance, respect, and appreciation of all differences through education. “Racism is a grown-up disease. We must stop using children to spread it.”

Ruby has also authored books about her experience, such as Through My Eyes, Ruby Bridges Goes to School, This Is Your Time, and I Am Ruby Bridges.

Her advocacy remains active. In recent years, she has spoken out against book bans and censorship attempts involving her story, arguing that suppressing historical truth is wrong.

Historical Milestones & Key Dates

  • September 8, 1954: Ruby Bridges is born in Tylertown, Mississippi.

  • 1960 (Nov 14): At age 6, she becomes the first Black child to attend William Frantz Elementary School, escorted by federal marshals.

  • 1964: Norman Rockwell’s painting The Problem We All Live With (featuring her) is published, further amplifying her story.

  • 1999: Ruby Bridges Foundation is founded.

  • 2000: She receives the Presidential Citizens Medal.

  • 2023: William Frantz Elementary is designated as part of the Civil Rights Trail.

  • 2024: She is inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

Influence & Legacy

Ruby Bridges’s courageous actions shaped the trajectory of school desegregation in the American South. Her walk symbolized the legal victories of Brown v. Board of Education being translated into real, personal change in the South.

Her continuing work through education and dialogue has kept her story alive as a teaching tool for tolerance, anti-racism, and cross-cultural understanding.

Institutions, schools, exhibits, and art (especially the Norman Rockwell painting) have kept her legacy in public memory.

Her stance on contemporary matters (book bans, race education) shows she remains engaged and vocal.

Personality, Values & Strengths

  • Courage & Innocence: Bridges has often said her childhood innocence protected her in those early days—she believed she was walking into a parade, not anticipating threats.

  • Empathy & Compassion: She emphasizes connection across racial divides, believing children have the capacity to transcend bias.

  • Steadfastness & Perseverance: She endured isolation, hostility, and backlash but persistently carried forward her mission.

  • Educator & Communicator: Through books, speeches, and her foundation, she uses storytelling to teach and inspire.

Famous Quotes by Ruby Bridges

Here are a few of her memorable statements:

  • “Kids know nothing about racism. They’re taught that by adults.”

  • “Don’t follow the path. Go where there is no path and begin the journey.”

  • “I now know that experience comes to us for a purpose, and if we follow the guidance of the spirit within us, we will probably find that the purpose is a good one.”

  • “Racism is a grown-up disease, and we must stop using our children to spread it.”

  • “That’s how racism starts.”

Lessons from Ruby Bridges

  1. One individual’s courage can shift systems
    A six-year-old walking into a hostile environment helped force the integration of schools in the American South.

  2. Education is a battleground for equality
    Legal changes mean little if people resist implementation; Ruby’s experience shows the conflict between law and lived reality.

  3. Children should not shoulder the burden of racism
    Her quote about racism being a “grown-up disease” reminds us that prejudice is taught — and unteaching it is a shared adult responsibility.

  4. Narrative and memory matter
    Her continued advocacy, writing, and public presence underscores how stories shape how societies remember their past and understand their future.

  5. Activism can evolve with life
    Even decades after her famous step, she remained active, founding a foundation, speaking on current issues, and protecting the integrity of her story.

Conclusion

Ruby Bridges is a timeless emblem of transformation — a child who, through sheer bravery, cracked open a door in America’s segregated educational system. Her life is a testament to how early acts of resistance ripple outward across generations. Through her foundation, her books, and her speaking, she continues to demand that history be told truthfully, and that future generations learn not to replicate the injustices of the past.

Articles by the author

My family - my mother and father had gone through such a hard time that by the time I graduated from sixth grade, they were separated.

Ruby Bridges

We as African Americans knew that if we wanted to see change, we had to step up to the plate and make that change ourselves. Not everyone comes to that realization in their lives, but thank God Linda Brown's father felt that way.

Ruby Bridges

My mother had taught me that the only thing you could depend on was your faith, and I had that.

Ruby Bridges

I remember the first time seeing myself on TV, when my family was watching the documentary 'Eyes on the Prize' for the first time. There were pictures of people going up the school stairs, and Mom said, 'Oh, that's you!' I said, 'I can't believe this. This is important.'

Ruby Bridges

Wisdom is a gift but has nothing to do with age. That was probably the case with me.

Ruby Bridges

I remember what it was like at age 6, not really understanding what was going on around me, but having all these grown-up thoughts running through my head about what I was facing, why this was happening.

Ruby Bridges

I never got the chance to meet Linda Brown; there were several times we were supposed to meet or be on the same stage together, but life gets in the way, and it never happened.

Ruby Bridges

If you really think about it, if we begin to teach history exactly the way that it happened - good, bad, ugly, no matter what - I believe that we're going to find that we are closer, more connected than we are apart.

Ruby Bridges

As African-Americans, people of that generation felt pretty much if they were going to see changes in the world, they had to make sacrifices and step up to the plate. I'm very proud that my parents happened to be people who did. They were not privileged to have a formal education.

Ruby Bridges

All of our schools should be good enough to attract a healthy racial mix, which, I believe, leads to the most effective learning for everybody.

Ruby Bridges

We have tolerance, respect, and equality in our written laws but not in the hearts of some of our people.

Ruby Bridges

We'd get these boxes of clothing in the mail, and my mom would say, 'What makes you think all this is for you? You've got a sister right behind you.' So then I realized, we're all in this together. We have to help each other.

Ruby Bridges

The mission of the Ruby Bridges Foundation is to create educational opportunities like science camp that allow children from different racial, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds to build lasting relationships.

Ruby Bridges

We may not all be equally guilty. But we are all equally responsible for building a decent and just society.

Ruby Bridges

The people I passed every morning as I walked up the school's steps were full of hate. They were white, but so was my teacher, who couldn't have been more different from them. She was one of the most loving people I had ever known.

Ruby Bridges

I had never seen a white teacher before, but Mrs. Henry was the nicest teacher I ever had.

Ruby Bridges

Every day, I would show up, and there were no kids, just me and my teacher in my classroom. Every day, I would be escorted by marshals past a mob of people protesting and boycotting the school. This went on for a whole year.

Ruby Bridges