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what happens next may take your breath
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away and hopefully get you thinking
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the magnitude of that moment did not
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escape the nation's view
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six-year-old ruby bridges and four
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we've been sent by the president of the
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united states and we are here to escort
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the governor of the state decided that i
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force my people to integrate against
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going through this kind of living hell
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what would you expect
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crowds of protesters lined to the
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teachers at the school refused to
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instruct her governor
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george wallace who blocked by literally
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200 people waiting at 8 30 in the
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morning to tell her they were going to
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then they had a machine gun beside their
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guns they threatened to poison ruby
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president of the united states and
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troops you are one of my heroes
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i'm here because of you the governor
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called the national guard all because of
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he pulled his gun to shoot things were
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gonna get really worse
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i can't believe this kind of stuff
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happens i would like to know what's
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until now she has never told the full
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story of what happened to her
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when they knocked on the door my parents
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opened the door and i remember standing
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there and seeing these
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four very tall white men
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i remember them saying that we're
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we've been sent by the president of the
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and we are here to escort you and your
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daughter to school today
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i found myself in the car driving
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this very short drive to this new school
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and the minute we turned the corner
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i saw what i thought was mighty girl
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there were so many people standing out
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in the middle of the street
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and they were screaming and shouting and
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i draw the line in the dust and i say
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now segregation tomorrow and segregation
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the car door opened and those federal
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marshals they grabbed my hand
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and i remember them saying ruby walk
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straight ahead and don't look back
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one of the city policemen he pulled his
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and everybody say they knew private to
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kill me and says if they killed the
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the child wouldn't have went 200 people
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waiting at 8 30 in the morning to tell
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her they were going to kill
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200 people in the afternoon telling you
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they're going to kill her
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the crowd would come and they would
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baby's coffin and they put this
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black doll inside of the coffin and they
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the school and i would have to pass it
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to get inside of the building
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and i used to have nightmares about the
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coffin this is a people's movement
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it doesn't make any difference whether
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the major politicians are going to
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if they don't support us in this
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back our government and give it to us
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and let us run our own institutions
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those who stand in the way are liable to
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when i got inside of the building i
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remember it being very
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quiet i received a call from the
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superintendent's office
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and asking me if i would like to take a
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that morning when i arrived of course
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and the hostility was palpable i was
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that if i went downstairs i would meet
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so i walked down to a cavernous basement
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those doors instantly opened and amidst
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towering presence of federal marshals
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stood the most beautiful little girl
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one could ever dream of seeing looking
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delicate so unaware of the mantle for
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change she wore that day
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and as i went over toward her to
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she came forward and i think she felt
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she was pretty special and she was
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and she looked that way she beautiful
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pink dress party dress
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and as i walked over to meet her her
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bowed head sort of raised gently
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and a little smile came across her face
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and then those beautiful big brown eyes
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that she still has rose to nepal
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and you know it was a case of love at
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how could you not fall in love with a
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child like that in a moment like that
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and so leaving behind a cameo of the
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ruby and i held our hands left them
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walked together upstairs to our first
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and began our solitary adventure i
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remember looking at her
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and thinking she's white
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i've never seen a white teacher before
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she looked exactly like the people
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she wasn't by the next day the crowds
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they kept pointing at me and shouting
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kept saying we're gonna poison her we're
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i remember hearing my mom said that she
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would send me the school
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and that every day she would sit and
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all day to three o'clock until i walked
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back through the door
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and the federal marshals they met with
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my parents and they said you should
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prepare her lunch and she should eat it
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they actually thought that i was afraid
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of being poisoned and i remember them
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and saying why were you not eating
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and why did you lie and i said
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because i want to eat lunch in the
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cafeteria with the other kids
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the minute we got to the cafeteria and
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they pushed open the doors
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nothing but empty tables there were no
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and i remember being so disappointed
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i just knew they were in the cafeteria
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i would go into this coat closet to hang
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up my coat and every time i went into
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i would hear kids voices
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and i would mention it to my teacher and
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she wouldn't say anything
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and there were days when i would go back
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into the closet and i would just stand
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just to see if i really heard them and i
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you see there were white parents who
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tried to send their kids to school with
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those white parents had to cross the
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same picket line that i did
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and they were never protected by federal
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marshals as they crossed the picket line
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the principal would take the kids and
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so they would never see me and i would
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i went up to the principal and i said
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why are they not with ruby
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and she said well that teacher won't
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and i said well i will teach them and so
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shortly thereafter they would come and
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join us for the afternoon
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and i do remember that beginning where
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those three or four little kids just
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into that room because that was the
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first time they had ever been
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in a classroom with a black child i went
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to play with them but that is the day
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because a little boy looked at me and he
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said i can't play with you
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my mom said not to play with you because
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and the minute he said that i remember
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it felt as if this weight lifted off my
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all of a sudden by him saying that i
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why there were no kids there
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and the truth is even though he hurt my
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i was never angry with him
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because in my mind i thought he was
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why he couldn't play with me he said
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my mom said not to play with you
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and i thought to myself if my mom
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had said ruby don't play with him
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he's asian don't play with him
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he's indian he's hispanic he's white
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if my mom had said not to play with him
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i would not have played with him
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so i wasn't angry with him i understood
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one cannot underestimate the courage of
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and the power a child has i believe it
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was in the best interest of white and
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uh to be in a segregated school system
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our children need to know that white
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black folks they stood together
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thank god for the teacher that was there
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she was my best friend
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and she taught me the lesson that dr
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each and every one of us and that is we
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should never judge a person by the color
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i always say that she showed me her
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heart we had a grand time together i
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think side by side than just the two of
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i believe that if we are going to get
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past our racial differences
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it's going to come from our kids but we
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as adults have to allow them
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opportunities to come together i think
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it's important for kids to dream
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and be able to believe that they can
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i don't think i would be here today if i
