[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! ____________________