By Grace Jones
It’s Wednesday evening at Long Beach State’s Carpenter Performing Arts Center and the sold-out crowd buzzes with anticipation as civil rights activist Ruby Bridges prepares to take the stage.
At six years old, Bridges made history by being the first African American woman to enter the formally all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans on November 14, 1960.
Before the main event, the halls of the Carpenter Center revealed packed crowds. All attendees were promised a copy of her 2020 book, “Ruby Bridges: This Is Your Time,” with the first 35 students receiving a signed copy.
In line, between murmurs of excitement and speculation of what Bridges would discuss, was attendee Jahne Margain.
Margain, a psychology major at the Beach, said she owns a family heirloom, the famous 1960 photo of six-year-old Ruby Bridges, who was being escorted to school by three federal marshals.
“My grandmother has the first original photo of her being escorted into school, and when my grandmother passed, I inherited the photo,” Margain said. “It will be something to pass on to my grandkids.”
For attendee Zaneta Alan, they said they were most excited to learn how Bridges feels about the current state of education.
“I’m hoping to learn her take on the current false narrative and how they are rewriting history in the southern states, specifically Texas and Florida,” Alan said.
Former president Barack Obama and Ruby Bridges in the White House on July 15, 2011, before the Norman Rockwell painting, “The Problem We All Live With.” The painting depicts Bridges and her experience of being escorted by three federal marshals as the first African American student to integrate into an all-white school. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
At 7 p.m., Bridges appeared on the vast sage, dressed in an all-black outfit, a red-patterned scarf and closed-toe cheetah-print heels.
After receiving a two-minute standing ovation from the audience, Bridges bore a full smile as she began.
She expressed that her childlike naivety kept her protected in many ways during the height of racial tension and violence in the South following the 1954 Supreme Court Brown vs Board of Education decision to integrate schools.
In a scene captured in Margain’s heirloom, Bridges recounts the November 14, 1960 date, when crowds of southern white people angrily protested for the opposition of integration, shouting, throwing rocks, tomatoes and other objects.
Just six years old, Bridges recalled her younger self thinking the large crowds were all there for her, celebrating Mardi Gras.
“There were crowds of people screaming and yelling and throwing things. I live in New Orleans, and I’m accustomed to Mardi Gras, so I thought it was Mardi Gras that day,” Bridges said. “I thought I had ventured into a parade, so I wasn’t afraid.”
Bridges cites her childlike wonder and innocence as persevering through the pain and anguish of the racially charged era.
She recalled when her sister had been jumping rope and recited a jingle, singing, “2, 4, 6, 8, we do not want to integrate!” Laughing, Bridges said as a 6-year-old, she didn’t understand the word “integrate.”
As the evening concluded, Bridges addressed the nation’s divisions, emphasizing the importance of knowledge, opposing book bans and urging unity among the American public.
Despite the softness in her voice and the slow, careful pacing of her words, Bridges’ concluding statement captured the audience’s attention.
“I believe you all came not to see me but for yourself. There is a shift in this country, and we all sense it,” Bridges said. “We think it’s black and white; it’s deeper than that—it has nothing to do with the color of your skin; racism is an excellent tool used to divide us.”
