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September 8
Bridges was born in a little cabin around Tylerton, Mississippi to a very poor family. Her father, Abon, and mother, Lucille, were determined to get their daughter an education and take a stand. Because of their forthright and courageous actions, her father was fired from his job, and her grandparents were forced to leave a farm where they had been sharecroppers for 25 years. Ruby Bridges did not know what it meant and wondered why white adults were trying to keep her from an education. Through it all, her parents walked beside her to the school, holding her hand, knowing how this would benefit their children and children in the future. Although many consider Bridges a hero, for her, the real heroes are her parents. She clearly remembers the white federal marshals, with bands around their arms, escorting her that day from her car and into the building. It was Ruby's first day as a first-grader at William Frantz School. She spent most of the day in the principal's office. When she entered her new classroom, there were no students and she thought that she was early. What had happened was the white parents had taken their children out of school that day. The pain six-year-old Ruby experienced 37 years ago she still feels as a grown-up. According to Bridges, 37 years ago, fate led her to the job of improving the quality of education for all Black children. Bridges reaches out to parents and encourages them to take an active part in their children's education. She tries to make them understand that education has no limitations. She stresses moral responsibility to one another regardless of the color of skin. She tries to improve the social, economic, and political status of children, no matter what color, and to do all she can to ensure a better life for children--and adults, too. . Reference: The African-American Atlas Black History & Culture: An Illustrated Reference by Molefi K. Asanta and Mark T. Mattson Macmillam USA, Simon & Schuster, New York ISBN 0-02-864984-2
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