Ruby Bridges

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As a child, Ruby Bridges went through horrible things, just so she could go to a somewhat integrated school. She was chosen as one of the six colored children to go to an all-white school. She achieved this by having one of the highest scores on the test that determined whether she would go to a colored school or an all-white school. To get to this school, which was only five blocks away, she had to ride in a car with federal marshals, and then to get into the school, she had to be surrounded by four marshals so the protesters wouldn't try to hurt her. Ruby didn't understand why the protesters were there until she got out of school and when she came to the realization of why they were there, she said: “Racism is a grown-up disease; we have to stop using our children to spread it.” This is a very accurate quote, in my opinion. After watching the movie about Ruby, I saw how crude people were to her and all the messages about her that the parents stuck in their children’s minds. It's a sad thing to see but it did happen and it is a part of history, and it's especially a part of the past that has changed the way everybody looks at others now.

When Ruby was put into William Frantz, there was an outrage. None of the whites wanted a colored girl going to their school and they were not going to have anything to do with her. Many parents were so furious that they decided to pull their children out of the school. By doing this, they are making their children believe that Ruby does not belong in the school with them and that she doesn't deserve to be there. When the kids would hear their parent's talking about how she should not go to William Frantz, the kids would not want to go back to the school if she was there because they ...

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...ce their parents and many other adults did not want her to be around them because she was colored. Many of the kids would call her mean names and refuse to play with her. Ruby was hurt by this and it made her think that she was different. The kids didn't know any better, of course. Since they learned that what they thought about colored people being a minority was correct, and equality was not.

So as you can see, racism is spread through our children, and people really do need to put a stop to it. Nobody is unequal, everybody deserves equal rights, and that is what Ruby proved. Even after all of that horrible trauma she went through, just to go to a good school, she turned out to be a great person. Now, it's just the other people, like the ones who stood out in front of the school protesting who need to realize that they are wrong and that everyone is created equal.

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