Report from Kenya #635 -- Bridges to Harris

[David Zarembka]

Bridges to Harris

Report from Kenya #635 – December 21, 2020

If you want the URL for this report, contact me at davidz...@gmail.com

By George Cummins

Introduction: With a subdued and bleak holiday season coming up, I thought it would be good to post a heartwarming story, “Bridges to Harris.” This was written by George Cummins who is one of my most loyal readers. When I was Coordinator of the African Great Lakes Initiative, he invited me to speak at the Trinity United Methodist Church in Charles City, Iowa, which he attends. He is still a member of the Honey Creek/ New Providence Friends Church where he grew up. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania starting in 1964 about two years before I did. He owns a farm and spent most of his professional life as an agricultural extension officer and teacher. He is married to Vonda and has two sons, two daughters, and three grandchildren. Enjoy. David Zarembka.

Much has and will be written about Kamala Harris, the first woman and woman of color (Jamaican father and Asian Indian mother) to be elected Vice President of the United States. Much has been written and will be written about the courageous women who preceded her and made Kamala’s success possible. If a picture is worth a thousand words, this photo below depicts the actions of one person in breaking down barriers that limit opportunities for many.

The shadow in the photo is based on the Norman Rockwell painting of 6 year old Ruby Bridges integrating the white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the fall of 1960.The Rockwell painting was introduced in 1964.

Growing up in lily white Iowa, I was oblivious to the racial inequities and not involved in any civil rights activities that were rapidly spreading across the country at that time. These were historic events which changed life for many in the US. Racial equality is still a work in progress.

Recently Ruby Bridges Hall was interviewed on the ABC TV program “The View”. She is an articulate speaker who shared some of her life experiences over the past 60 years since first grade. She also promoted her latest book “This is your Time” (2020) which we have purchased. It is a 55 page book with lots of pictures that would be understandable even for beginning readers. She is also the author of two other books, “Through my Eyes” (1999) and “Ruby Bridges Goes to School – My True Story” (2009) which we will add to our “Read” list. Amazon also lists many books by other authors about Rudy Bridges and her experiences. A number of the books are intended to encourage young, minority readers.

In 1954, the year of Ruby’s birth, the Supreme Court ruled in the Brown vs. Board of Education case that segregated schools were unconstitutional. Several states opposed the ruling and did not enforce it. In September, 1957, nine black students enrolled to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Governor Orval Faubus called out the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the students from attending because of “an imminent danger of tumult, riot and breach of peace” on September 4th, 1957. On September 23rd, President Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and ordered them to protect the black students and to support the integration of the school. These were eventually the first black graduates of Central High School. Apparently some schools in the South closed for a time rather than to comply and integrate.

In February 1956, Judge J. Skelly Wright formally issued an order for the Orleans Parish School Board (Louisiana) to desegregate its schools, and in 1960 he approved a plan to do this. He ordered integration to start on the third Monday of November, 1960.

To comply with the judge’s order, the Orleans Parish School Board administered an entrance exam with the intention of keeping black students out of white schools. Ruby was one of six black students to pass the entrance exam. Two decided to stay in their segregated schools and three integrated McDonogh No. 19 Elementary School. Bridges elected to go to all-white William Frantz Elementary School by herself. According to website articles, the experiences of the integrators at both elementary schools were similar and threatening to anyone and especially 6 year olds.

Ruby attended a segregated kindergarten in 1959 and passed the required entrance exam. Her father resisted her integration, fearing for his daughter’s safety. Her mother insisted that she attend the William Frantz Elementary School which was a few blocks from their home as she felt her daughter would receive a better education than in an all-black school.

Ruby and her mother walked to and from school each day, escorted by four US Marshalls, thru vicious crowds waving signs and screaming racial slurs. One woman threatened to poison her.

 

Marshall Charles Burks recalled, “Ruby showed a lot of courage. She never cried. She didn’t whimper. She just marched along like a little soldier and we’re very proud of her.” Ruby claims that only time she was frightened was when she saw a woman holding a black baby doll in a wooden coffin. A picture of the lady holding the baby doll in a wooden coffin is on page 15 of her book, “This is your Time.” When Ruby entered the school, white parents pulled their children out. Some ardent segregationists withdrew their children permanently. On the second day a white Methodist minister named Lloyd Foreman walked his 5-year-old daughter, Pam, thru the angry mob. A few days later, other white parents began bringing their children to school and the protests began to subside.

Barbara Henry from Boston, MA., was the only teacher willing to teach a black child and for a year taught Ruby as a class of one. Ruby ate a lunch she had brought from home alone, sometimes played with her teacher at recess and never missed a day of school all year.

Child Psychiatrist Robert Coles provided weekly counseling to Ruby during the first year. He later wrote a book, “The Story of Ruby Bridges.” He donated royalties from the book sales to the Ruby Bridges Foundation which provides money for school supplies or other educational needs of impoverished school children in New Orleans.

The Bridges family suffered because of their decision to send their daughter to be the first student to integrate William Frantz Elementary. Her father, Abon, lost his job as a gas station attendant. The grocery store where the family shopped banned them. Ruby’s grandparents who were sharecroppers in Mississippi were evicted. Her parents, Abon and Lucille Bridges briefly separated.

Others in the community, both black and white, showed their support. Some white families continued to send their children to school in spite of the on-going protests. A neighbor hired her father. Local people babysat, watched the Bridges house as protectors and escorted Ruby and the Federal Marshalls to and from school. Many years later Ruby learned that a relative of Robert Coles, her child psychiatrist, had provided the appropriate dresses, socks and shoes that she wore to school.

By Ruby’s second year at Frantz School, much had changed. Mrs. Henry's contract wasn't renewed, so she and her husband returned to Boston. There were also no more federal marshals; and Ruby walked to school every day by herself. There were other students in her second-grade class, and the school began to see full enrollment again. No one talked about the past year. It seemed everyone wanted to put the experience behind them. Over time, other black students would enroll at William Frantz Elementary. Many years later, Ruby’s four nieces would also attend the school.

In November, 1962, George Wallace was elected Governor of Alabama with 96% of the electoral vote. In January, 1963 he took the oath of office standing on the gold star marking the spot where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as provisional president of the Confederate States of America 102 years earlier. In his inaugural speech, Wallace said, “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod the earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”The attached piece, written by David Zarembka, (see here) details Wallace’s efforts to maintain segregation in Alabama and the Civil Rights actions/events that occurred in the state over the next 20 years. The article also details Wallace’s change of heart and request for forgiveness for his militant rhetoric and the pain it had caused black people. Unfortunately we have political leaders who promote and condone racial inequality today and show no remorse for the results of their actions.

Ruby finished grade school and graduated from the integrated Francis T. Nicholls High School in New Orleans. She then studied travel and tourism at a Kansas City business school. She worked for American Express as a world travel agent, married Malcolm Hall (1984), and they have four sons. In the mid-1990s, Ruby was reunited with her first teacher, Barbara Henry, and they did speaking engagements together. As noted above, Ruby has written several books about her experiences. She has received the Carter G. Woodson Book Award for her writing.

In 1998 the made-for-TV movie, “Ruby Bridges”, depicting her integration of William Frantz Elementary was released. In 1999 she formed the Ruby Bridges Foundation (https://www.rubybridges.com/) which promotes the values of tolerance, respect, and appreciation of all differences. The motto of the Foundation states, “Racism is a grown-up disease, and we must stop using our children to spread it.” Another quote on the website is, "Don't follow the path. Go where there is no path and begin the trail. When you start a new trail equipped with courage, strength and conviction, the only thing that can stop you is you!"

The Halls continue to live in New Orleans. In 2005, the Halls lost their home in the catastrophic flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina which also severely damaged William Frantz Elementary. The Halls played a significant role in the efforts to repair the school and keep it open.

In 2007, the Children's Museum of Indianapolis unveiled a new exhibition documenting Bridges' life, along with the lives of Anne Frank and Ryan White. The exhibit called, “The Power of Children: Making a Difference” includes an authentic re-creation of Bridges first grade classroom.

In 2010 at the 50th anniversary class reunion, Ruby was reunited with Pam Foreman Testroet, the first white child to break the boycott of William Frantz Elementary that resulted from Ruby’s attendance.

Ruby has received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Bill Clinton, the “Hero Against Racism Award” from the Anti-Defamation League, and an Honorary Degree from Tulane University. Elementary Schools in Alameda, California, and Woodinville, Washington, are named for Bridges. Her statue stands in the courtyard of William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Rockwell painting was displayed in the West Wing of the White House, just outside the Oval Office from June – October, 2011. On July 15, 2011, Ruby met with President Obama at the White House. While viewing the famous Rockwell painting on display, Obama commented, “I think it’s fair to say that if it hadn’t been for you guys, I might not be here and we wouldn’t be looking at this together.”

Many have benefited from the opportunities created by the courageous actions of Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis and others, some of whom have not been recognized in any way publicly for their efforts. We all have benefitted from those who preceded us. We owe them a debt of gratitude and should strive to share these blessings and opportunities with others. That idea is captured in the anonymous quote below:

I have drunk from wells that I did not dig. I have warmed by fires I did not build. I have eaten fruit and relaxed in the shade of trees I did not plant. All my life I have benefited from the efforts of those who came before me. I should make some contribution so that those who follow me can benefit from my efforts.

Every 5 years, alumni of New Providence High School (Iowa) hold a reunion. At the 2018 NPHS reunion, as part of his keynote address, Mark Minear, the Master of Ceremonies, asked all in attendance to silently identify a few people, now deceased, who positively affected our lives; To silently identify a few people, still living who positively affected our lives and to contact them and let them know of our appreciation; and to think of the legacy we would leave. NPHS consolidated and closed in 1980 and the school building has been demolished. We still have opportunities to work and contribute so others can benefit from our efforts. Methodists are encouraged to do as much as you can, as well as you can, for as many as you can, for as long as you can.

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