On November 14, 1960, Ruby Bridges would be the only Black student to attend the William Frantz School, near her home, and the first Black child to integrate into an all-white elementary school in the South.

Her early life is iconic but Ruby says she has not fulfilled her purpose yet!

In 1999, Ruby formed the Ruby Bridges Foundation, which is headquartered in New Orleans. Their missions is to promote "the values of tolerance, respect, and appreciation of all differences"Describing the mission of the group, she says, "racism is a grown-up disease and we must stop using our children to spread it."

And that’s what she does now, everyday! Having herself been thrust into the discourse around race and racism at such a young age, she decided she wanted to work with kids and do what she could to interrupt the spread of that grown-up disease. So she travels all across the country, speaking to kids in schools.

Mentioned during the episode:

Books:

The Story of Ruby Bridges -Written by Dr. Robert Coles

Through My Eyes-Written By Ruby Bridges

Movie:

Ruby’s Shoes

Ted Talk