The Unstoppable Ruby Bridges

Historian 1: Our play takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1960.

Historian 2: Throughout the South at that time, Black people were kept separate from White people.

H1: Black children weren’t allowed to attend White schools.

H2: This was unfair because the White schools had better conditions. They had more teachers, bigger classrooms, and newer supplies.

H1: Some people wanted children of all races to go to school together. They thought the schools should be integrated.

H2: But many White parents wanted things to stay the same. They planned to protest at White schools to stop Black students from entering.

H1: In this fight for fairness, one brave girl led the way.

Narrator 1: Ruby is in the small bedroom she shares with her younger siblings.

Ruby: Let’s play school. I’m the teacher!

Michael: You always get to be the teacher.

Ruby: I’m the oldest.

Narrator 2: Ruby finds a scrap of paper and the stub of a pencil. She writes the alphabet.

Ruby: I’ll point to a letter, and you tell me what it is.

Joana: A, B, C

Ruby: Good.

Michael: D, F

Ruby: Try again.

Michael: E!

Ruby: Yes! E for excellent!

N1: There is a knock at the front door. Ruby’s parents answer.

Sheila: Hello, I’m Sheila. I’d like to talk to you about Ruby.

Mr. Bridges: Is something wrong?

Sheila: Not at all. This past spring, Ruby was one of more than 100 Black kindergartners to take a placement test.

Mrs. Bridges: Yes.

Sheila: Only six students passed that test. Ruby was one of them.

Mr. Bridges: What does that mean?

Sheila: She can attend first grade at William Frantz Elementary, which is a better school and closer to your home.

Mr. Bridges: Isn’t that the White school? Those folks don’t want us there.

Sheila: Sir, a judge has ruled that keeping Black children in separate schools is illegal. They deserve the same rights as White children.

Mr. Bridges: I heard the governor on the news. He said he’d go to jail before he’d allow Black kids in a White school.

Sheila: He may feel that way, but school segregation is ending. And your daughter could be one of the first Black children to help that happen.

Mr. Bridges: There will be a lot of angry people outside that school. You want my little girl to walk past a shouting mob just to get to class?

Sheila: Sir, we can only get rid of discrimination if there are people willing to stand up for what’s right.

Mr. Bridges: It’s one thing to ask me to fight for equal rights, but Ruby is only 6 years old!

Sheila: We will make sure nothing happens to her.

Mrs. Bridges: We’ll talk it over and let you know.

Sheila: Just think of it—Ruby would be a hero for Black children throughout the South.

N2: One night weeks later, Mrs. Bridges is tucking Ruby in.

Ruby: Good night, Mama.

Mrs. Bridges: Good night.

Ruby: Why are you in your work clothes?

Mrs. Bridges: I’ve got a job tonight. While you are sleeping, I’ll be cleaning that big hotel downtown.

Ruby: I wish you didn’t have to go.

Mrs. Bridges: Me too, sweetie, me too.

N1: Mrs. Bridges turns out the light and joins Mr. Bridges in the kitchen.

Mrs. Bridges: I can’t stop thinking about that William Frantz Elementary. It sure looks nice—big and clean.

Mr. Bridges: I don’t think we should send Ruby to a school where she’s not wanted.

Mrs. Bridges: The school she’s at now is crumbling. The kids are crammed in dirty rooms. There aren’t enough desks. The books are falling apart.

Mr. Bridges: You think having shiny new books is going to change her life?

Mrs. Bridges: A better education will lead to better jobs.

N2: Mr. Bridges sighs heavily.

Mrs. Bridges: Remember where I was the day before Ruby was born? I was in the fields with a 90-pound bag of cotton on my back.

Mr. Bridges: No one ever promised us an easy life.

Mrs. Bridges: I’m not talking about easy, I’m talking about opportunities. This could mean a better life for our kids.

N1: One Sunday night that fall, Mrs. Bridges has news for Ruby.

Mrs. Bridges: Ruby, you’ll be starting a new school tomorrow.

Ruby: What about my friends?

Mrs. Bridges: You’ll make new friends, honey.

N2: In the morning, Mrs. Bridges ties a pretty bow in Ruby’s hair.

Mrs. Bridges: Are you ready?

N1: Ruby nervously tugs at the stiff collar of her dress.

Mrs. Bridges: Now, Ruby, there might be a lot of people outside the school, but you don’t need to be afraid. I’ll be with you.

N2: There is a knock at the door. The Bridges are surprised to see four White men in suits and yellow armbands. Ruby hides behind her father.

Mr. Bridges: Yes?

Marshal 1: We are here to take Ruby to school, sir.

Mr. Bridges: Where is Sheila?

Marshal 2: We’re U.S. Marshals. The judge thought it would be safer if we protected your daughter.

N1: Ruby’s father turns to her mother.

Mr. Bridges: What if the crowd tries to hurt her? It’s not too late to change our minds.

N2: Mrs. Bridges has a pained look on her face.

Marshal 1: We will stay with Ruby all day, ma’am. We will keep her safe.

Mrs. Bridges: All right. Let’s go ahead.

N1: The marshal who is driving grips the steering wheel tightly.

Marshal 2: Mrs. Bridges, let us get out of the car first, then you go. We will surround you and your daughter.

Marshal 1: We want you to look straight ahead and not turn back.

Mrs. Bridges: Yes, sir.

N2: Mrs. Bridges squeezes Ruby’s hand.

Mrs. Bridges: You got that, Ruby?

Ruby: Yes, Mama. Look straight ahead and not back.

N1: They pull up in front of the school. There are policemen everywhere.

N2: A huge crowd is gathered behind barricades.

Ruby: Why are those people waving and shouting? Is this a parade?

Mrs. Bridges: No, sweetie. It’s not a parade.

N1: When they step out of the car, the shouts grow even louder.

N2: The crowd is yelling at Ruby to go home.

N1: Ruby walks between the marshals. Her eyes point straight ahead.

N2: As Ruby enters the school, a White parent sees her and gasps.

N1: The parent storms out the door, holding her son by the wrist.

N2: Other White parents stream through the halls and take their children home.

N1: They do not want their children in school with a Black child.

N2: Ruby is brought into her classroom. There are no other kids, just a sea of empty desks and chairs.

Ruby (quietly): Are we too early?

N1: A woman comes over and greets them warmly.

Mrs. Henry: You are right on time. I’m Mrs. Henry, your teacher.

Ruby: Hello.

Mrs. Henry: Ruby, why don’t you sit at this desk in the front, and I’ll sit right next to you. Do you like books?

Ruby: Yes, ma’am.

N2: She hands Ruby a beautiful picture book. They spend the day reading, drawing, and singing songs.

H2: At the end of that first day, the crowd outside is even larger and louder. There are reporters and cameras filming.

N1: The crowd keeps shouting at Ruby to go home and stay home.

N2: The marshals bring Ruby home. The police have set up more barricades on Ruby’s block. She and her siblings jump rope outside.

Michael: How was school?

Ruby: OK, I guess.

Joana: How many friends do you have?

Ruby: None. I’m the only one in the class.

Michael: Why?

N1: Ruby stares at the policeman standing guard at the end of her street.

Ruby: I don’t know.

H1: Ruby spends the next few months alone in class with Mrs. Henry. She is lonely.

N1: Ruby goes to sharpen her pencil and looks out the window at the empty playground.

Ruby: Where are all the kids?

Mrs. Henry: It’s hard to explain. Some people just aren’t ready for change.

Ruby: Will I ever have any friends to play with?

Mrs. Henry: Ruby, the other children will come back to school eventually.

Ruby: When?

Mrs. Henry: I don’t know, dear. But they’ll come.

H2: As the school year goes on, more and more White children return to school.

H1: At first, they are kept away from Ruby. But Mrs. Henry insists they spend time in her class.

N2: Ruby approaches a White boy excitedly and says hi.

Ruby: Want to draw pictures with me?

N1: The boy says he can’t. His mom doesn’t want him to play with her.

N2: Ruby’s eyes grow wide. Suddenly, she understands everything—the angry crowds, the marshals, her empty classroom.

N1: After school, Ruby talks to her mother.

Ruby: All this fuss has been about the color of my skin?

Mrs. Bridges: That’s right.

N2: Ruby thinks for a moment.

Ruby: Am I really that different from White people?

Mrs. Bridges: No, sweet girl. We are all just human beings. And slowly, things are starting to change. You are helping that happen.

Ruby: How?

Mrs. Bridges: By being the smart, brave girl who marches up the steps to William Frantz Elementary every morning. You are showing the world that you deserve to be there.

Ruby: I just want to learn and have friends.

Mrs. Bridges: You will, Ruby. I promise you will.

H2: Schools in New Orleans gradually became more integrated.

H1: When Ruby started second grade, there were other Black students in her school.

H2: She had friends of different races.

H1: But the fight for equality continues even today.

H2: Ruby is now a grown woman with children and grandchildren of her own.

H1: She travels to schools around the country telling her story.

H2: She will never stop working to end racism and make sure that all children are given the chance to succeed.