Imagine you are just a little girl or boy, having to walk 10 miles to your small,one room school.You pass a lot of all white schools that are big and nice. When you finally get to your school, you notice the broken steps, hole in the roof and windows that are stuck open. You walk in and see 100 black kids in your class crammed into a tiny room. The school doesn't have a heater so, you have to chop wood and build a fire in an old burning stove.
Well one little girl had a big dream to have a real education. Her name was Ruby Bridges, she was born on September 8,1954 in Tyler town, Mississippi. At the time she was born white people wanted to be separate from black people because they thought they were too good for them.
She was one of the first black children to go to an all white school. Her dad didn't want her to go to an all white school because of the angry people who wanted white people and black people separated. Although her mom wanted her to go to an all white school to get a better education and have a brighter future. Her mom knew what it was like if she didn't have a good education. Her mom didn't have a good education and had to work very hard, the day before she gave birth to Ruby she carried ninety pounds of cotton on her back. She didn't want her baby girl to have that hard of a life, so she wanted to send her to William Frantz School. 
It wasn't easy, getting Ruby into the school. Her dad got fired because his boss didn't think one of his employee's children should go to an all white school. People threatened to poison Ruby if she went to their school. But Ruby got in by taking a very challenging test. On the first day of first grade U.S marshals had to take Ruby to and from school with her mom, to protect her from angry white people. All her mom and Ruby did that day was wait in the office. The first day many parents refused to let their children go to school with a black kid, they were holding signs and yelling.
The second day Ruby and her mom sat in the classroom, although none of the white parents let their students be in the same room as her. Her teacher started to teach and was very sweet to Ruby and her mom. The third day her mom didn't go with her. For the rest of the year she was the only student in her class and on her floor. The teachers thought she shouldn't be taught with the white children. At first this didn't bother Ruby but after a while she began to wonder why she wasn't with the other kids. Ruby graduated and became a travels agent. She was one of the first African Americans to go to an all white school and get a good education. This really helped other African Americans with getting better educations and help with the relationships between white and black people. She didn't think it was such a big accomplishment till years later. After her brothers death due to a drug-related shooting, she realized that she actually did help. She started volunteering at her old school, helping troubled, small African Americans. She started the foundation Ruby Bridges Foundation, traveling to school explaning the importance of a good education! :D
Imagine what it would be like to be Ruby Bridges and at first have to go to an old run down, crowded school because your different colored skin. Nowadays we really take advantage of a good education. We complain a lot about homework or tests, when Ruby would have gladly taken our places! I really like Ruby Bridges and think she really made a difference in education, that most people were scarred to do.
Like I said in the title its Black History Month.Yesterday my class went on a field trip to the Atlanta History Center to conclude the month. It was very fun and I learned a lot! I really liked when we got to act like soldiers and go through what their life was life. We got to learn about how the soldiers lived and that a lot of what they did relied on luck or fate. If they would get caught... If they got hurt what would happen. We also learned that the civil war was one of the most bloodiest wars in American History. Some people were just uneducated and thought differently, like they thought that the "slaves" deserved less and were more like children. I recommend you visit the museum! It was so much fun!
Thanks for reading my blog!
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