Can you believe this was only 63yrs ago!

[Night409]

On this day 63 years ago Ruby Bridges was the first black child to attend an all white school.

The hate and deaths threats made by grown adults to a little 6 year old child is absolutely vile.

It’s hard enough to imagine these threats and hate made towards an adult but how could anyone do this to such a young child!

Many of these people are still alive today.

I’m not sure why I’m posting, I just thought I’d share.

More information.

how brave.

Ruby is the same age as me. It is shocking that she had to go through this and that adults would behave that way to a little girl.

You know some if not all of those images you've posted in the first post are from a film? That's not actually Ruby herself.

She is brave, but I’m sure there were schools that were mixing before that? I remember seeing photos of one London school in the 1920s or 30s where there were clearly children from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures.

I went to a little private school when I was 4'ish (I suspect to get me out of tjhe way while DM was pregnant). There was at least one black child there that I remember (South London, late 1950s).

Not sure if you're making a point about the UK, either. Ruby Bridges was in Louisiana.

Wow

I remember 2 black girls coming to our primary school. None of us had ever seen a black person in real life before (yes really). We were all absolutely fascinated and treated them like hero’s

I’m nearly 52

She was the first black girl to attend an all white school in certain US states. There’s never been (formal) segregation in the UK.

I'm ashamed that I hadn't realised such discrimination was legal so recently. How absolutely awful.

I hope Ruby grew up to know that her education was a right, she wasn't privileged to receive it. If that makes sense?

Not making a point, I was just confused!

Did you not know about racial segregation in the US, then? (serious question).

Yes, but I didn’t realise it was about the US!

That story was in the USA. Here there was but no prejudice like that. In around 1960 we had a black boy in my class. He went on to become head boy of the boys grammar school and have a high flying career.

We also had one non white girl at my girls grammar school a couple of years later. She also went on to to have a high flying career.

It's shocking. Sadly racism is still alive and well. When will we learn to see what binds us together rather than hating our differences? 😞

@KitchenSinkLlama will we ever learn? I wonder. Human nature hasn't changed much.

That poor little girl, what she had to endure.

This was in America sorry.

That was in the U.K.
Ruby Bridges was in the US.

I was 5 in 1963. There were all races at my school in London, I remember black kids and my best friend was Indian and another close friend was from what was then Ceylon.

This post is about deep south USA. Totally different issues.
There was of course racism here, but not segregation.

It's ridiculous to say 'there was no prejudice like that' and quote a couple of examples. (1) Of course, it's not exactly the same as the USA.

(2) to give examples of successful outliers as showing that 'everything is fine', is to deny systemic issues.

Barack Obama being president doesn't mean unarmed black children are no longer shot by police in the USA.

It’s mad to think how recent it actually was.

And for years after many people still didn’t agree with it.

I know many countries have racist people in them but America seems to have serious racial tensions still and it’s no wonder when you think about how recent these sorts of events were.

I wonder if any of the younger "protesters" are still alive now and if they are mortified at their younger selves?

It is shocking to think segregation was happening so recently. There was rapid change in the 20th century. I remember having a real "wtf" moment when I turned 40 and realised that less than 40 years before I was born the country was fighting WW2. It had seemed much further away in time until that thought struck me.

She is without doubt one of the bravest people in history, to go through that at such a young age. ❤️

I remember having a real "wtf" moment when I turned 40 and realised that less than 40 years before I was born the country was fighting WW2. It had seemed much further away in time until that thought struck me

I was born nine years after the war ended and there was still rationing when DM was pregnant (ended about the time I was born).

She and her family must have had nerves of steel. So unbelievably brave and utterly awful that she had to go through that.