NEED TO KNOW

Ruby Bridges was the first Black student to enter a formerly all-White school in New Orleans

She faced angry White mobs, and only one White teacher agreed to educate her

Sixty-five years later, Ruby continues to be an activist

On Nov. 14, 1960, when Ruby Bridges was just 6 years old, she unknowingly became an icon for the civil rights movement that was sweeping the country.

The first grader made history when she became the first Black child to integrate into an all-White elementary school in the American South. As Ruby walked into New Orleans’ William Frantz Elementary School on Nov. 14, 1960, accompanied by her mother Lucille and protected by federal marshals, she faced an angry White mob who threw food at her and hurled racial slurs.

“ My parents didn’t try to expla

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