BY COZETTE CALDERON
Every year, Benicia High engages in the Ruby Bridges Walk to School day on November 14. What exactly is ‘Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day’? It’s the day we encourage students to walk to school in remembrance of a brave little girl who fought for her place in education.
Ruby Bridges was 6 years old on November 14th, 1960, when she walked into William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana, securing her place as the very first African-American child to be integrated in that elementary school. However, this process was not easy. Bridges faced lots of opposition and oppression. Her enrollment was continually delayed because of the school’s refusal to accept they were required to accept African-American students under the Brown vs Board supreme court decision. One of the most notable expressions of such oppression was on her first day before she had even arrived. Mobs crowded the streets, causing Ruby to be accompanied by four federal marshals on her walk to school. This federal accompaniment was required every single day for a year in order to ensure her protection against the protestors that were enraged over her enrollment.
Once she was in school, her experience was not easy. She faced blatant racism. Only one teacher was willing to accept her in their class, and parents pulled their kids from school to show their distaste and hatred for integration. Still, segregation occurred within the school. She was not allowed in the cafeteria or to participate in recess with the other children.
Not only was Bridges affected, but so was her family. Her father lost his job, and her mother was refused service in stores. However, Ruby and her family understood the importance of fighting for one’s rightful place and the value education holds. Her family and herself persevered through the struggles of desegregation. This is why we walk to school on November 14th. We walk to honor Bridge’s life story. We walk to remember the fight she had to declare for her right to education. We walk to never forget that education is worth fighting for and that it should be accessible for everyone because it is how we beat ignorance—to stop the repetition of history.
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