#muralmondays: These Are Times (Ruby Bridges & More Tribute)
“They didn’t see a child. They saw change... They never saw a child”
- Ruby Bridges, Civil Rights Activist
Chaz Monet, Lela Rochon and MIchael Beach star as the Bridges family in the 1998 Disney biographical film, Ruby Bridges.
#MUSE In May 1954, the Supreme Court of Topeka decided racially segregated public schools were unconstitutional. It would be the first time the ‘separate but equal’ status quo brought forth through Plessy vs Ferguson in 1896 had become repealed in the Supreme Court. Of course, racial segregation was already widely practiced, but the 1896 ruling enhanced it. 1954 became a milestone year in overcoming ‘separate but equal’, and on September 8th of that year Ruby Bridges came to the world.
Ruby was the firstborn of five to Abon and Lucille Bridges, a strong pair who experienced adversity through and through. Abon, is a Purple Heart war veteran who served in the Korean War. Although injured himself, Abon helped carry his comrade to a helicopter after the latter lost his leg. Being an African American veteran during the time meant being denied the education and mortgage benefits of the G.I. Bill. The war hero and his budding family were subjected to a life of poverty.
Lucille Bridges, was raised in a sharecropper family in Mississippi and denied opportunities to attend school. In an interview with K Houston 11’s Shern-min Chow, Lucille shared “When I was 15 years old, I used to pick 300 pounds of cotton a day”. Though the practice is common, sharecropping is similar to slavery and enables land owners to exert more control over their tenant farmers than a traditional employer. Lucille wasn’t able to attend school unless her family’s commitment on the farm was fulfilled. Dr. Robert Coles, who later provided psych services to Ruby Bridges, stated both her parents were illiterate. The Bridges placed an immense amount of value on education and it’s potential to advance their family and people.
Although it was made illegal to deny admissions to African Americans, the hatred and deception persisted. In New Orleans, Black students were subjected to an ‘admissions test’ designed for them to fail. Such deceptive practices were commonly deployed to prevent African Americans from exercising rights. For example, Black residents of Louisiana attempting to vote in 1964 were subjected to a literacy test said to ‘prove a fifth grade education’. In reality it was impossible for anyone to pass. The same 30 question test was given to Harvard Students in a 2014 experiment and every participant failed. The ‘standardized’ test administered by the Orleans Parish School Board was no different.
Nonetheless, of approximately 150 Black students who sat for the entrance exam, Ruby Bridges was 1 of 6 students to pass and 1 of 3 admitted to William Frantz Elementary School (3811 North Galvez Street, New Orleans). The two other students decided to remain enrolled at their school, which made Ruby the sole Black student to attend Frantz Elementary. For many reasons, Abon was apprehensive in sending his daughter to the frontlines of desegregation, but Lucille convinced him to let it happen as a ‘step forward for all African-American children’.
Historically, Louisiana ranks fourth in the nation as the state with the most recorded lynchings making mob violence too familiar. To secure safety, four armed U.S. Marshals were deployed on direct orders by President Eisenhower to escort Ruby Bridges to school. On the morning of November 14th, 1960 Bridges, Ruby Bridges was greeted by an angry mob of white New Orleanians. The moment would be immortalized by Norman Rockwell in his 1964 painting, “The Problem We All Live With”.
“Throwing eggs, tomatoes and whatever they could get their hands on.”
- Lucille Bridges, Civil Rights Activist & Mother of Ruby Bridges
The hostile crowd outside of Frantz Elementary would shout obscenities, brandish racist signs/images and throw anything they could find. Unfortunately, the hatred was not contained to just the white mob outside as local police attempted to deny access to the school and the faculty refused to instruct Ruby. Abon Bridges would lose his job, Ruby’s maternal grandparents were evicted from the sharecropper land they called home in Mississippi, and death threats towards the Bridges poured in. Threats of poisoning lead Ruby to exclusively eat food bought from home or packaged food that she would open herself.
Love and support was made available from a few humble souls refusing to be intimidated by the masses. Abon Bridges was subsequently hired by one of his neighbors, and others surveyed the family home for safety. Barbara Henry would teach Ruby one-on-one for the remainder of the year. Henry had a background teaching in integrated settings and relocated to New Orleans from Boston, MA months prior.
Dr. Robert Cole, also from Boston, provided pro-bono services as a child psychiatrist and would visit the Bridges family home weekly. At the time, he was the Chief of Neuropsychiatric Services at Keesler Air Force in Biloxi, MS located 90 minutes from New Orleans. It was later revealed that Dr. Coles’ family donated the clothes Ruby Bridges wore in the photos taken by the press. In a 1988 interview with Bruce Baird-Middleton, he stated he was initially curious of Bridges’ courage and her strength.
‘She showed a lot of courage. She never cried. She didn't whimper. She just marched along like a little soldier. And we're all very proud of her.’
- Charlie Burks, U.S. Marshal who escorted Ruby Bridges to school
To the surprise of many, Ruby Bridges wouldn’t cry. She appeared nonchalant in response to the mob of angry whites. During the interview, Dr. Coles shared that Bridges would pray for the crowds outside of William Frantz Elementary. She wasn’t simply a test case, but an activist demonstrating true courage. She braved out the rest of the school year and the following year 8 Black students were admitted to William Frantz Elementary. The armed US Marshals were no longer necessary.
She attended an integrated Francis T. Nicholls High School (3820 St. Claude Avenue, New Orleans), which was renamed Frederick Douglas High School during the 1990s. After studying at Kansas City Business School, she became a world travel agent for American Express.
On January 18th, 1998, ABC premiered a Disney movie titled, ‘Ruby Bridges’. That Martin Luther King weekend was made historical as then sitting president, Bill Clinton introduced the film. In 1999, she started the Ruby Bridges Foundation to create a school in the William Frantz Elementary building that will serve as a model for integration and equity in education. Happy Birthday to Ruby Bridges.
#MURAL Ayo Scott, completed the “These Are Times” mural in May 2018. The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) commissioned Scott to adorn the wall in close proximity to where Homer Plessy was first arrested in 1892. The case eventually led to the 1896 Supreme Court ruling in which the separate but equal became a legal doctrine.
#MOVES “These are Times” is located across the street from StudioBE and a short walk from other iconic murals in the neighborhood.
