[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12600-12601]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   ESSAY BY BREISA BAKER FOR THE NATIONAL HISTORY DAY COMPETITION IN 
                                KENTUCKY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON LEWIS

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 26, 2006

  Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I commend my Colleagues to the 
attached essay, The Blessed Broken School, by Breisa Baker. Miss Baker 
is a student at Spencer County Middle School Her essay placed 2nd in 
the National History Day Competition in Kentucky.
  I had the privilege of meeting Miss Baker and her family during a 
recent visit to Washington, DC.

                       The Blessed Broken School

                           (By Breisa Baker)

       Segregation and integration are two words that played a big 
     part in southern schools. The story of Ruby Bridges gives us 
     a vivid picture of both words. Ruby Bridges played an 
     important role in history through integration by taking a 
     stand when she went to a segregated school in Louisiana.
       Racial segregation was challenged with a case in 1896 
     called Plessy v. Ferguson which took place in Louisiana. 
     (Marilyn Miller, Words That Built A Nation) In this case, a 
     black man found a vacant seat in the coach section on the 
     train and decided to sit there. A white man came in demanding 
     that the seat be his. This brought about a separation of 
     blacks and whites. Because of this case, segregation carried 
     over into the schools.
       Written into the 14th Amendment of this case are laws 
     permitting, and even requiring blacks to be separated from 
     white people. These laws do not necessarily imply the 
     inferiority of either race to the other. The most common 
     instance of this is connected with the establishment of 
     separate schools for white and ``colored'' children. The 
     words ``separate but equal'' originated from this case.
       It was the law in 17 southern and border states that 
     African American children and white children attend separate 
     public schools. All these states justified their policy by 
     saying that black and white schools were ``separate but 
     equal.''
       Integration is the process of opening a group, community, 
     place, or organization to all, regardless of race, ethnicity, 
     religion, gender, or social class. The court case Brown v. 
     Board of Education of Topeka ruled that racial discrimination 
     in public education was unconstitutional and all provisions 
     of federal, state or local law requiring or permitting such 
     discrimination must yield to this principle.
       In 1954, the National Association for the Advancement of 
     Colored People (NAACP) challenged the ``separate but equal'' 
     doctrine at the elementary school level. The NAACP argued 
     before the Supreme Court that children in all white schools 
     received a better education than children in all black 
     schools. In May of 1954, the courts agreed and outlawed 
     racial segregation in public schools. Because of the Brown v. 
     Board decision, black and white children, as well as children 
     of all other races and ethnicities, today attend the same 
     public schools. This is where the story of Ruby Bridges 
     begins.
       Ruby Bridges was born on September 8, 1954 in Tylertown, 
     Mississippi into a very poor family. Ruby was, and still is a 
     hero to American citizens. Of course, neither the Bridges 
     family, nor Ruby, had any clue that she was going to end the 
     war of separation of blacks and whites. Ruby would become a 
     part of American history by being brave and walking into an 
     all white school.
       Ruby's parents worked hard to provide for her, but there 
     were many nights that there was nothing to eat for dinner. At 
     the age of 4, Ruby and her family moved to New Orleans, 
     Louisiana, where her parents were able to get better jobs. 
     Ruby's family was poor financially because her dad worked as 
     a janitor, and her mom scrubbed the floors in a bank at 
     night.
       Americans did not treat African Americans as equals. Black 
     children and white children attended different schools, which 
     were segregated. The schools for black children were not as 
     good as the schools for white children.
       A federal judge in New Orleans said the city had to obey 
     the law, Brown vs. Board, and in 1960 the judge ordered six 
     year old Ruby Bridges to attend first grade at William Franz 
     Elementary School. No black child had ever stepped foot upon 
     the ground of the entirely white school. She would be the 
     only black child there.
       Ruby's family was scared once they had found out that Ruby 
     was going to be sent to William Franz Elementary School. ``I 
     took a test along with all the other kindergarteners at my 
     school during the summer found out that I had been selected 
     to start first grade at William Franz Elementary School.'' 
     The whole family was praying for strength and courage to get 
     through any 'trouble' as a result of the desegregation 
     ruling. Both of her parents were proud that their little 
     daughter had been chosen for such an important event in 
     American history. Maybe there was another reason why Ruby was 
     chosen to carry the burden of being made fun of by all those 
     people. Little Ruby wasn't the only one that was carrying the 
     burden on her shoulders. There were three other little 
     children in New Orleans being sent to another school because 
     of the desegregation law. Ruby stood out the most because she 
     was by herself and the other children had each other.
       Ruby was terrified and didn't have any clue on what was 
     going to happen while she attended the school. The court had 
     federal marshals guarding her every where she went and 
     watching everything she did in the school, and making sure no 
     one harmed her. Charles Burks, a U.S. Marshal, who was one of 
     the men who escorted Ms. Bridges said, ``We expected a lot of 
     trouble, but, as it turned out, it wasn't nearly as bad as we 
     thought, even though Miss Bridges probably thought it was. 
     For a little girl six years old, going into a strange school 
     with four strange deputy marshals, a place she had never been 
     before, 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.'' (Jim Lehrer, 2006)
       The Federal marshals had to be ordered in by President 
     Dwight D. Eisenhower to escort Ruby into the school building. 
     The city police of New Orleans and the Louisiana State Police 
     refused to help out. The marshals carried guns just in case 
     people tried to hurt little Ruby. In fact, on many occasions 
     they threatened to arrest people just to keep the crowds away 
     from her. Ruby would always run through the crowds without 
     saying a word.
       Ruby Bridges, who is now Ruby Bridges Hall said, ``I wish 
     there were enough marshals to walk with every child as they 
     faced the hatred and racism today, and to support, encourage 
     them the way these federal marshals did for me. I know there 
     aren't enough of you, but I do hope that I have inspired you 
     to join me by dedicating yourselves to not just protecting 
     but uplifting those you touch because that will enable us to 
     rise together as a people, as a nation, and as a world.'' 
     (Ruby Bridges, 2002)
       On November 14, 1960, the Nation's eyes were on her, as six 
     year old Ruby Bridges walked into not only the school but 
     `into history as well'. ``That first morning,'' said Bridges, 
     ``I remember mom saying as I got dressed in my new outfit, 
     `Now, I want you to behave yourself today, Ruby, and don't be 
     afraid. There might be a lot of people outside this new 
     school, but I'll be with you,''' (Eileen McCluskey, 2002)
       Ruby's first day and all the other days that she attended 
     school, there was a mob of angry white people trying to scare 
     off Ruby. Some people even threatened to hurt Ruby. The crowd 
     was yelling with one voice, ``Two, four, six, eight, we don't 
     want to integrate.'' (Ruby Bridges, 1999)
       On her second day of school, Ruby remembers, ``My mother 
     and I drove to school with

[[Page 12601]]

     the marshals. The crowd outside the building was ready. 
     Racists spat at us and shouted things like `Go home, nigger,' 
     and `No niggers allowed here.' One woman screamed at me, `I'm 
     going to poison you. I'll find a way.' She made the same 
     threat every morning.'' (Ruby Bridges, 2002) Yet every 
     morning Ruby kept walking and praying, ignoring the noise 
     that was going on all around her.
       ``Please God try to forgive these people because even if 
     they said those bad things, they don't know what they're 
     doing. So could you forgive them, just like you did those 
     folks a long time ago when they said terrible things about 
     you.'' (Bruce McCluggagge, ``A Prayer for White Folks'') Ruby 
     called her prayer, ``The White Folks' Prayer.'' Ruby prayed 
     every morning and afternoon about a block away from school, 
     after she had been mocked and made fun of. She called it the 
     ``white folks' prayer,'' because she prayed for all those 
     white folks that were yelling bad things at her. This prayer 
     showed Ruby's character, her faith and Christianity. Ruby's 
     mother wanted her children to be close to the Lord at a very 
     young age. Little Ruby came from a very religious background. 
     Even though Ruby's family was poor, being Christians made 
     them very rich. Because of her mother and father teaching her 
     about God she knew what to do while being persecuted.
       Ruby entered the classroom, and she saw that the teacher, 
     Mrs. Henry, and she were the only ones in the classroom. The 
     parents of the white children would not let their children go 
     into the school with Ruby.
       Her walk and her bravery inspired the 1964 Norman Rockwell 
     painting, ``The Problem We All Live With.'' This shows a 
     small black girl escorted by four federal marshals walking to 
     school beside a wall bearing a scrawled racial epithet and 
     the letters KKK, which stands for the Klu Klux Klan. The KKK 
     are people who dress up in white robes and hoods, and they do 
     not like black people at all. They try to do whatever they 
     can to hurt black people.
       A Harvard professor by the name of Robert Coles witnessed 
     Ruby's first day in New Orleans. He wrote a children's book 
     about Ruby Bridges' experience called The Story of Ruby 
     Bridqes. Coles reminds children of all ages about the heroism 
     of Bridges' action by showing her facing an empty classroom 
     because angry parents kept their children home and all but 
     one teacher refused to teach a black child.
       A book about Ruby titled The Story of Ruby Bridges was 
     published in 1995. When the book came out, Ruby's first grade 
     teacher, Mrs. Henry, saw it and contacted her. They were 
     reunited on the ``Oprah Winfrey Show.'' I suppose that was 
     one of the greatest joys of Ruby's life. She has also been in 
     contact again with Dr. Coles, her old child psychiatrist. 
     Also, there was footage of Ruby in the television series, 
     ``Eyes on the Prize,'' about the Civil Rights Movement.
       Ruby Bridges played an important role in the Civil Rights 
     Movement. She feels that there was a reason for what she went 
     through. She played an important part in bringing blacks and 
     whites together. She did not know why she had to go through 
     it, but now believes that it was meant to be that way. She 
     has finally reached a point in her life where she feels that 
     her life had meaning.
       There are few who deny the heroism of Ruby Bridges: she has 
     demonstrated the value of education to countless others. Ruby 
     Bridges, who is now 51 years old, has devoted herself to the 
     education of the young. She raised her own four sons, her 
     brother's four daughters, and started the Ruby Bridges 
     Foundation ``in the hopes of bringing parents back into the 
     schools and taking a more active role in their children's' 
     education.'' (Bridges Foundation)
       Ruby went through more than half of the school year in a 
     room being the only student. The only other person, who was 
     brave enough to be seen with Ruby was Ms. Henry, her teacher. 
     Ms. Henry was a lady from the north who was telephoned by the 
     superintendent to come teach the first grade class at William 
     Franz Elementary School. At first, Ms. Henry, did not know 
     that she would teach at a segregated school.
       The first day when Ruby walked into the classroom, she only 
     saw the teacher, a white lady. Ruby said, ``A young white 
     woman met us inside the building. She smiled at me. `Good 
     morning, Ruby Nell' she said, just like Mama except with what 
     I later learned was a Boston accent. `Welcome, I'm your new 
     teacher, Ms. Henry. `She seemed nice, but I wasn't sure how 
     to feel about her. I had never been taught by a white teacher 
     before.'' (Ruby Bridges Hall, March 2000) Ruby was surprised 
     that the school had not sent her a black teacher, but a white 
     teacher. There were no other students, but yet Ms. Henry and 
     Ruby both came to school faithfully the whole year. Ignoring 
     the noise outside, she and Ruby used their time getting to 
     know one another and learning the whole year.
       Despite not being able to go outside, Ms. Henry always 
     found a way to cheer Ruby and create games for the both of 
     them. Ms. Henry remembers that ``Ruby was an extraordinary 
     little girl. She was a child who exuded, I think courage. To 
     think that every day she would come to class knowing, that 
     she would not have any children to play with, to be with, to 
     talk to, and yet continually she came to school happily and 
     interested to learn whatever could be offered to her. I think 
     she was a child with an incredible sense of self in that she 
     was strong enough to counter all the obstacles that were put 
     in her way. And each day she would enter class, after having 
     gone through tumultuous entrance into the school where she 
     was confronted by an incredible number of agitators and 
     protestors. Yet she would come into school every day with,the 
     most wonderful smile on her face. Then she would come over 
     and greet me, her eyes dazzled with a sense of wonder.'' 
     (Lucille Renwick, 2001)
       Ms. Henry has said, ``I have learned so much from Ruby. 
     Children can teach us so much by showing their inner selves. 
     Children are pure, honest and simple. Children constantly 
     teach teachers lessons of character honesty, and integrity. 
     Children learn what they see. They take a signal from the 
     teacher on how to value the worth of an individual.'' 
     (Lucille Renwick, 2001)
       Ms. Henry also said, ``Teachers have to present to the 
     students the struggles that have gone on in the world before 
     them to realize the opportunities that they have just to go 
     to school, and the struggles some people have had simply to 
     get an education. You have to be a person who offers a child 
     an opportunity for enlarging his world, and seeing the world 
     from different points of view, and in different settings.'' 
     (Lucille Renwick, 2001)
       Eventually Ruby was joined by two boys, and was soon 
     followed by the rest of the students. Ruby went on to finish 
     out elementary school and then middle and also high school! 
     Ruby became a major part of American history. Because of her 
     bravery and her actions may the whites and the blacks or any 
     other ethnicities never be separated like this again! Thanks 
     to Ruby Bridges who stood up for what she believed in and for 
     continuing to take a stand!

                          ____________________