| Audio | Visual |
|---|---|
| A Young Hero By Chase Tunbridge. Illustrated by Craig Deeley. |
A portrait of a cheerful girl. She looks upward and smiles bravely. |
| What does it mean to be brave? Most of the time we think bravery is only for the heroes we see on TV or in the movies. Does bravery only happen on TV? Is bravery only for grownups? Can a young person be brave? |
A young girl sits alone at a classroom desk. |
| This is the story of Ruby Bridges. Ruby was born in Mississippi. Her father worked on a farm. When Ruby was very young her father lost his job. She and her family had to leave the farm and move to the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Even though Ruby's parents worked very hard, her family didn't always have enough money for food. |
Ruby Bridges stands in the foreground looking upward with a smile. Her parents stand behind her on an open field. |
| When Ruby was young, black children and white children in New Orleans were not able to go to the same schools.
The schools for black children were not equal to the schools for white children. There was no real reason for it to be like this. It was racism and it was against the law. A court decided that schools had to integrate. The judge asked four young black girls to go to two white schools. Three of the girls went to one school. Ruby went to William Frantz Elementary alone. She was the first black child to enter an all-white school in New Orleans. Ruby was only six years old. She was young, and she was very brave. |
Image left: Four children stand side-by-side with their school supplies in hand. Image right: Ruby enters the school with two grownups by her side. |
| On Ruby's first day, a large crowd of angry white people waited outside of the school.
They tried to scare her.
They teased her and yelled mean things at her.
They were afraid of change. The President of the United States sent Federal Marshals to protect Ruby. They would not let the angry people harm her. Each new day was just like the first. Every day angry people tried to keep Ruby away from the school. Every day she came back! How do you think this made Ruby feel? How would you feel if it were you? If Ruby felt fear, she didn't show it. |
Image left: A group of unhappy people stand in a crowd with signs. Image right: Ruby smiles calmly as the Marshals guide her past the crowd. |
| Once Ruby reached her desk she was able to relax.
She was the only child in her classroom! Most of the white people would not send their children to the school because Ruby was there. Ruby did not have anyone to play with. It was not safe for her to go outside for recess. The only other person in the classroom was her teacher, Mrs. Henry. Every other teacher at William Frantz Elementary had refused to teach a black child. Mrs. Henry had never seen such a brave person, young or old. She was happy to teach Ruby to read and write. |
Image left: Ruby sits at her desk in an otherwise empty classroom with a pencil and paper. Image right: Mrs. Henry sits next to Ruby, helping her learn. |
| After a long while, the white people began to overcome racism and started sending their children to integrated schools. By the time Ruby went to second grade, classrooms had many children, black and white. |
Ruby, older now, sits in a room full of happy children. |
| When Ruby Bridges grew up, she returned to William Frantz Elementary to help all the children, black and white.
Today, she visits other schools to tell her story. The next time someone asks you if a young person can be brave, remember the young hero, Ruby Bridges. THE END |
A picture of Ruby as a grownup is next to another picture of her leaving William Franz Elementary as a child. |