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Ruby Bridges Body Image

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The road to Civil Rights was drastically changed by that of a six year old girl. A six year old girl who did what most adults would not do, she walked into an all white elementary school. At a time where segregation was still an issue and faced the hatred that white people had towards African Americans. The image of Ruby Bridges being escorted into school by federal marshals is one of the most powerful iconic images in the world today and one of the most powerful images captured during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1954, Ruby Bridges was born, ironically that was the same year the government made the decision between Brown v. the Board of Education. ("Ruby Bridges: The first Black child to integrate a white school in the South”) This decision …show more content…

What she faced and what she went through was remarkable. The first few weeks at her new school were deemed to be very challenging and difficult. At the time she only knew what she understood, therefore she could not understand why people were being so racist and had so much hatred towards her because she was just a child who wanted to learn. She was only allowed to attend one class. This image captures the effect that it had on Ruby Bridges. It shows that she kept her head up and continued to march forward. Unfortunately, the hatred towards African Americans and the public being upset over the allowance of an African American at a public white school took a toll on the Bridges family. Her father lost his job and her grandparents lost their land that they owned for well over 25 years. ("Ruby Bridges Biography”) The abuse and hatred didn’t stop there. Her family was banned from entering a grocery store that they frequently went to. The emotional damage was worse than the physical damage. Ruby started experiencing nightmares and would wake her mother up so she could be comforted. ("Ruby Bridges Biography”) She started talking to a psychologist, because she was overwhelmed with stress that it began to be to much for her to handle. Towards the end of the school year things began to settle down. There was now a couple white children that returned to school, in Ruby’s grade. It wasn’t until after many years later that she finally understood the extent of the racism that arose due her attending a public white

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