On This Day: Courage Walked Through the Schoolhouse Door. Ruby Bridges, November 14, 1960.

On the morning of November 14, 1960, a six-year-old girl in a white dress, clutching her lunchbox, made history simply by walking into school. Her name was Ruby Bridges, and that day she became the first Black child to attend an all-white elementary school in the American South — a quiet act of courage that would echo through generations.

Ruby was born in 1954, the same year the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. But in much of the Deep South, that ruling was met with fierce resistance. In New Orleans, officials delayed integration for years — until a federal court finally ordered it to begin in 1960.

Out of hundreds of Black children tested for readiness to attend white schools, only a handful passed the entrance exams designed to maintain segregation. Ruby was among them. She was assigned to William Frantz Elementary School, a small, all-white school in her neighborhood.

That Monday morning, Ruby was driven to school by four federal U.S. marshals, acting on orders from President Dwight D. Eisenhower. As their car approached the school, they were met by a mob of white protesters — jeering, shouting racial slurs, and waving signs demanding she go home.

Ruby later recalled thinking it was some kind of celebration. At six years old, she couldn’t comprehend the hatred directed at her. But those who witnessed the scene never forgot it. A little girl, calm and composed, walked through chaos, her innocence in stark contrast to the ugliness around her.

When Ruby entered William Frantz Elementary, every white parent pulled their children out in protest. Only one teacher, Barbara Henry, refused to leave. She taught Ruby alone, day after day, in an otherwise empty classroom.

During those first months, Ruby ate lunch by herself, played by herself, and was escorted everywhere by federal marshals. Yet she never missed a day. Her mother reminded her each morning that she was doing God’s work — helping to make the world a better place for children who would come after her.

Ruby’s quiet bravery became a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement. The image of her escorted by U.S. marshals inspired artist Norman Rockwell’s famous painting The Problem We All Live With, capturing the dignity of a child facing down racism.

Her courage helped open the doors of education to countless others and forced America to confront the hypocrisy of segregation.

Today, Ruby Bridges is celebrated not only as a civil rights icon but as a reminder that real change often begins with ordinary people doing extraordinary things. On November 14, 1960, she didn’t set out to change history — she just went to school. But her walk that day marked a defining step toward justice, equality, and the promise of a better America.