In 1960, when angry crowds of white people hurled insults and threats at her, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges maintained her composure as she walked into an all-white school in New Orleans and became its first African-American student.
With her courage, Bridges helped end racial segregation in public schools in the South. That bravery was enhanced by the presence of four U.S. marshals who escorted her in the school every day.
Bridges made national headlines again when she reunited with one of those marshals, Charles Burks, in Indianapolis last week.
Bridges and Burks, who is white, reconnected during a special event at The Children’s Museum, which filmed footage of the pair for an exhibit called The Power of Children, which highlights the contributions of young activists such as Bridges, Anne Frank and Ryan White.
Burks helped escort Bridges to class when she became the first Black student to attend Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans in November of 1960.
“It changed the face of education. It was very, very important,” Bridges said. “For a long time I thought it was a part of history that was swept under the rug and people didn’t talk about it.”
Bridges and Burks had a unique chance to recount that history and emphasize the importance of civil rights to a new generation of Americans.
Sitting in the exhibit’s replica of the classroom that Bridges sat in alone except for her teacher they recalled the days that helped change the course of the civil rights movement and discussed the work they think still needs to be done.
“It was a privilege to be able to do what I did, even though it was one of my duties. Everybody says it was another job to do, but it was a wonderful job,” said Burks, who supported the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 decision to strike down segregation in public schools.
A resident of Logansport, Ind., Burks, 91, is the only one of the four marshals who escorted Bridges that is still living.
“Thank you Charlie for doing what was right at a time when it might not have been the easiest thing to do,” Bridges told him.
Bridges, now 58, said she didn’t realize at the time the role she was playing in helping bring down segregation because her parents had not given her all of the details of what was happening. She thought the angry crowds standing outside the school were part of an event or parade, such as Mardi Gras, and they didn’t frighten her.
But Bridges, who lost her home in Hurricane Katrina and still lives in New Orleans, did say she was disturbed by a Black doll placed in a baby’s casket the racist crowd would use to taunt her, which brought nightmares.
Burks was a deputy U.S. marshal working at the Hammond, Ind., office as part of the special operations group trained to deal with the integration of schools. He was called to New Orleans and became one of four marshals who protected Bridges.
“I was thinking about making sure nothing happened to Ruby,” he said. “That was the most important thing. We knew what to do. You just had to do it.”
Burks and the other marshals escorted Bridges to and from school for several weeks before local police took over that duty. Eventually the crowds dispersed and she no longer needed protection.
Bridges’ first week at the school are depicted in an iconic painting by Normal Rockwell called “The Problem We All Live With,” which was completed in 1963 and shows Bridges being escorted by Burks and the other marshals.
It wasn’t until she saw that painting that she realized her story is one that touched Americans nationwide.
Bridges went on to become a travel agent, and now operates a foundation that is deigned to get youth more engaged in the work of improving their communities and standing for justice.
She would like to see American history taught in a way that resonates with children and youth, which is why she supports the exhibit at The Children’s Museum and occasionally comes to Indianapolis to speak there.
Bridges said she hopes The Children’s Museum exhibit can help youth understand both U.S. history and the civil rights movement’s victories, while realizing that work still remains to overcome the nation’s legacy of racism.
“You’d think after electing the first Black president, we’d come together,” she said, “but that’s not true. We are more separated. We do have a lot of work to do, but it’s going to take all of us coming together to do that work.”
Still, Bridges is hopeful about the future and is proud of the lasting impact that she and other civil rights activists had on opening the door to more equality.
“It’s important to me that young people could hear what that was like,” Bridges said. “It was truly a turbulent time, but we accomplished so much.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
