Ruby Bridges

A very significant memory that I have was meeting Ruby Bridges. Chuck and I had intended to go to the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. It is located on the site of the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed. However, when we got there, Ruby Bridges was signing picture books for children. I expected there to be a large crowd, but, at that time, there was not. So, I went up and was able to meet her. I know that my heart was beating rapidly.

Their Hearts Ached

She did not see herself as a hero. She was the first grader who was the first, in 1962, to integrate white schools. For those who don’t know the story, she wasn’t at all well received. All the other students left, until she had to be the only student in the classroom. Her teacher hung on, but there were massive protests and a lot of backlash for her family.  

Her life left a big impact on mine and gave me really important lessons to teach throughout my career. It was during one of those lessons that I had a child of color make an amazing statement. All of the kids were sad and felt sympathy for poor Ruby Bridges. Their hearts ached for her. But, this is what the only African American child (that year) said, “I’m really glad there’s no one who is different like that in our class.” All the kids said “Yeah,” and shook their heads in agreement.

MLK Day

I usually read The Story of Ruby Bridges around Martin Luther King (MLK) Day. What impressed me most is that kindergarten and first graders didn’t really get the significance because they were a little too innocent to understand what racism can really mean. So, it was always more enlightening to me than to them during those lessons. Because I taught in a predominantly white school, I often had students of color who recognized for the first time that someone in their class was similar in skin tone to them. They would meet this realization with great surprise and hug each other. The rest of the class would clap. 

I wish that we could just find that kind of innocence as adults.  Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Spending so many years with kindergarten and first graders really allowed me to understand this scripture.

There were also funny times, because the fact that his last name was King meant something more literal to my young students. They thought he must have been a king, and, in some ways, he was. He was chosen, but they thought he was a king with a throne. One of the first graders remembered hearing about this king. One day his mom told him he died on the throne and his real name was Elvis Presley. 

Act Justly

Ruby Bridges was and is an extremely good person who made a big difference in our country. I have learned from my years of teaching that we cannot truly live the command in Micah 6:8 “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly” with our God until we become as a little child. Whether we get to sit on a throne or not, if we live like children of the true King, our world will be a better place.

Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear

Also, see Finding Wisdom & Brain Development.