Hero Ruby Bridges

People should not be called upon to be heroes at the tender age of 6, but that is exactly what happened in the case of Ruby Bridges, an African-American child living in New Orleans.

The year was 1960, and the event was the integration of that city's public schools.

The wheels of progress were set in motion in 1956 when Skelly Wright, a federal district court judge, ordered the racial integration of the city's public schools. In 1960, after the appeals process had been exhausted, the plan called for the first grade to lead the way in gradual grade by grade school integration.

A tiny, alight girl with a big smile, Ruby led the way at Frantz Elementary School, accompanied to and from school by large, determined-looking federal marshals. Parents pulled their children out of school, and for a time, Ruby was a class of one, taught by a sympathetic teacher, a Mrs. Henry, who had come from Boston.

Finally, two white children returned to the class. More followed.

The image of Ruby's courage in the face of hate-filled opposition was frozen in time by painter Norman Rockwell in a canvas he titled "The Problem We All Live With."

In adult life, Ruby worked as a travel agent. She lent her name to an educational foundation and was the subject of both a book and a movie. She and Mrs. Henry eventually met again--on the Oprah Show.