I’ve heard lots of great speakers at Pepperdine University over the years, but Ruby Bridges was definitely one of the most inspiring when I heard her in 2016. Ruby was sent to a previously all-white school in New Orleans when she was six years old. Every day for almost a year, federal marshals escorted her into the school building to protect her from the screaming mobs who did not want her in that school. She was the only black child in the school and the only child in her class for most of the year as most white families pulled their children from the school.
At Pepperdine, Ruby told us about her loneliness and confusion and fear and how she turned to prayer for comfort. While I marvel at Ruby’s courage, as a parent and grandparent, I think I may be even more in awe at the courage and determination of her parents who allowed their very young daughter to walk that dangerous and difficult path as they tried to ensure a better future for her and for others. Ruby tells her story beautifully in a 1999 picture book that includes many photos of the era — and the famous Norman Rockwell painting — and also words from her mother and her teacher and the stories of other families — black and white — who braved almost unthinkable opposition that year.
It was truly an honor to meet Ruby and to get her autograph.
0 Comments