Who Is Ruby Bridges?

By: Crystal Hubbard, Who HQ

How did a six-year-old Black girl become the courageous face of the 1960 civil rights movement? Learn all about the inspiring true story of the civil rights activist Ruby Bridges.

Even though the US Supreme Court ruled segregated schools illegal in 1954, it wasn’t until 1960 that school integration began in Louisiana. Many racist communities—especially in the Southern part of the country—held fast to their dream of remaining segregated in all facets of society. Six-year-old Ruby Bridges was about to become one of the first Black children to attend an all-white elementary school following the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Her white peers boycotted school, and people protested outside the William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, yelling at Ruby as she walked into school. But Ruby wasn’t afraid. She courageously held her head high, ready to open doors not only for herself, but for Black students across the country.

By the time Ruby Bridges graduated high school, all public schools in the US were integrated. Thanks to Ruby’s bravery, education in the United States was forever changed for the better. Today, Ruby is a civil rights activist who inspires children to become the change they want to see in the world.