Ruby Bridges

mmk this is a long one so don't go to sleep on me :P
In 1954 the US Supreme Court ruled public schools should be desegregated. There was so much resistance in the South that it took 6 years before a federal judge in New Orleans finally just ordered a couple of schools to desegregate, and to admit black students into, there all white schools. On Nov. 14, 1960 after a number of delays 3 black students were admitted in one school, and in the Franz school another little black girl was admitted. Her name was Ruby Bridges. During this time Robert Coles (an atheist was doing a residency is psychiatry. This is her story in his words.
One day I was early for an appointment in New Orleans so I decided to go visit one of those schools and see what was happening. Outside of Franz school there was a mob of people standing and screaming at 2:00 in the afternoon, and I realized that they were waiting for something. I asked one of the people what was happening. He answered," She's coming out in 1/2 an hour." I said, "Who's she?" And then I heard all the language about who she was, all the cuss words and the fowl language. I decided to stay and watch, even if I didn't get to my appointment on time. Soon out of the Franz school came a little girl, Ruby Bridges, and beside her were federal marshals. The reason being, the local police were to prejudice and couldn't be trusted to protect her. She came out of the school and the people started in. They called he this. They called her that. And they brandished their fists. They told her she was going to die, and that they were going to kill her. I waited while she left in the car, and wondered who would come out next, but I found out no one else went to that school. The school had been totally boycotted by the entire white population. Every single day, day in and day out this crowd waited to heckle her in the morning when she came to school and in the afternoon when she went home from school. With the help of some friends I eventually made contact with Ruby and her parents. My wife and I went to the Bridges home knowing that the family was under terrific stress. "How are you doing Ruby?" I would say to her twice a week. "I'm ok" " Mrs. Bridges, how's Ruby doing?" " She's doing fine." I had expected that Ruby or her parents would answer with some evidence of turmoil... "Mrs. Bridges, Is Ruby sleeping ok?" "Oh yes. Ruby's sleeping fine." "Are you sure she's sleeping fine?" "Yes." "Well how's Ruby's appetite?" "Fine.” “Are you sure she’s eating well?” “Yes.” “How do you think Ruby’s doing with her friends when she comes home from school?” “Ruby’s fine when she comes home, and sometimes she reads from the books she brings home, or rather she tries to. She’s only in the first grade.” “Does Ruby seem upset at anytime?” “No Ruby doesn’t seem upset,” she said. I said to myself, “ Maybe Mrs. Bridges doesn’t know how to pick up these type of symptoms.” I’d been used to having parents come and see me from all the well-to-do suburbs of Boston and you can be sure the parents there knew how to pick up these symptoms. As for Ruby she was probably more upset then she realized. Eventually she’d realize it or if she didn’t I’d realize it and I would tell her, and if not the world, because they were waiting for our news. One day the teacher said to me, “ I saw Ruby on her way to the school. She stopped and seemed to be talking to the people who stood in the street. Every morning at 8:00 there were at least 50 people waiting for her, and every afternoon there were another 50-75 more people. I went to Ruby’s home that night, and asked her, “Ruby how was your day today?” She said,” It was ok.” “ I was talking to your teacher today, and she told me that she asked you about something when you came in the school room this morning.” “I don’t remember,” Ruby said. “ Your teacher told me that she saw you talking to the people in the street.” “Oh yes, I told he I wasn’t talking to them. I was just saying a prayer for them.” “Ruby you pray for the people there?” “Oh yes.” “Really?” “Yes.” I said, “Why do you do that?” “ Because they need praying for,” she answered. “Do they?” “Oh yes.” “Ruby why do you think they need you to pray for them?” “Because I should.” “Why?” “Because I should.”
And then Ruby’s mother came into the room. She had heard this line of inquire. “We tell Ruby that’s it’s important that she pray for the people.” She said that Ruby had the people on a list and prayed for them at night too. I said, “Ruby do you pray for the people at night too?” “Oh yes” “Why do you do that?” “Well because they need praying for.” Mrs. Bridges told me that Ruby had been told in Sunday school to pray for the people. I later found out that the minister in their Baptist church also prayed for the people publicly every Sunday. I said to Mrs. Bridges and then to her husband later. “You know it strikes me that that’s a lot to ask of Ruby. I mean given what she’ going through.” And they looked at me very confused. “We’re not asking her to pray for them because we want to hurt her or anything,” said Mrs. Bridges. “But we think that we all need to pray for people like that. And we think Ruby should too.” Then she looked at me and said,” Don’t you think they need praying for?” “ Yes I agree with you there,” I said, “ But I still think it’s a little to much to ask Ruby to pray for them.” Once a couple weeks after the first time I mentioned it I again asked Ruby about this praying.” Ruby I’m still puzzled about why you want to pray for such people given what they do to you twice a day, five days a week. “Well,” she said, “Especially it should be me.” “Why you especially?” “Because if you’re going through what there doing to you, you’re the one who should be praying for them.” Then she quoted to me what she heard in church. “ The minister said that Jesus went through a lot of trouble. And he said about the people. Who were causing the trouble,’ forgive them because they don’t know what they’re doing,’ and she said, “This is what I pray. Please God try to forgive these people because when they say those bad things they don’t know what they’re doing. So you can forgive them, just like you did those folks a long time ago, when they said terrible things about you.”
And now little Ruby said these things in the 1960’s about the people in the streets in New Orleans. How’s someone like me supposed to account for something like that psychologically or any other way. (Robert Cols later became a Christian.)
Sorry for the lengthy post peeps just wanted to share this totally cool story :D