Ruby Bridges

@African American Women, Birthday and Childhood

Ruby Bridges is renowned for being the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school

Sep 8, 1954

MississippiPhilanthropistsAmericanActivistsCivil Rights ActivistsVirgo Celebrities
Biography

Personal Details

  • Birthday: September 8, 1954
  • Nationality: American
  • Famous: African American Women, Black Women, Philanthropists, Activists, Civil Rights Activists
  • City/State: Mississippi
  • Known as: Ruby Nell Bridges, Ruby Nell Bridges Hall
  • Universities:
    • William Frantz Elementary School
  • Birth Place: Tylertown

Ruby Bridges born at

Tylertown

Unsplash
Birth Place

In 1984, Bridges was married to Malcolm Hall, thus becoming Ruby Nell Bridges Hall. The couple, along with their four sons, lives in New Orleans.

Unsplash
Personal Life

Her bravery, when escorted by four US marshals on her first day at school, inspired painter Norman Rockwell to create the painting ‘The Problem We All Live With’, which became the cover page of Look magazine in January 1964.

Unsplash
Personal Life

Child psychiatrist Robert Coles, who counseled her during her first year at school for the ever-increasing riots and protests against her, penned a children’s book titled ‘The Story of Ruby Bridges’, in 1995, as an inspiration for other students.

Unsplash
Personal Life

Ruby Bridges was born as Ruby Nell Bridges on September 8, 1954 in Tylertown, Mississippi, to Abon and Lucille Bridges as the eldest of the four kids.

Unsplash
Childhood & Early Life

Since her family had been sharecroppers, they moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, in search of a better living, when she was four. This was the same time when blacks were largely discriminated from the whites.

Unsplash
Childhood & Early Life

To support the increasing expenses, her father sought employment as a service station attendant, while her mother started working in night shifts.

Unsplash
Childhood & Early Life

Even though she lived just five blocks away from an all-white school, she had to walk several miles ahead to attend an all-black school.

Unsplash
Childhood & Early Life

Of the six students who successfully passed the National Association from the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) test in 1960 to attend an all-white school, she was the only student who chose William Franz Elementary School.

Unsplash
Childhood & Early Life

She completed her graduation from Kansas City Business School in travel and tourism. After graduation, she took the job of a world travel agent in American Express.

Unsplash
Career

In 1993, when her brother Milton was killed in a drug-related issue, she adopted his four daughters and enrolled them in William Franz Elementary School.

Unsplash
Career

She started volunteering at William Franz for thrice a week and became a parent-community liaison. She gained instant popularity and got to reunite with her first teacher, Henry, through Coles’ book on her, on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Unsplash
Career

In 1999, Bridges established The Ruby Bridges Foundation to support and encourage parents to educate their children as a need to end racism and promote equal rights for one and all.

Unsplash
Major Works