Meet Ruby Bridges. At 6 years old, she was the first Black child to attend an all-white elementary school in the American South. ⁠
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For her to attend school her first day, federal marshals with guns had to make way through a crowd of grown men and women screaming “n*gger”.

They spit on Ruby, threatened her life and waved confederate flags. They even carried a small coffin with a Black baby doll inside, which caused Ruby nightmares at the time. ⁠

In her classroom, all her classmates were either withdrawn by angry parents or abandoned the class refusing to sit with the 6-year-old.⁠
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Nearly all the teachers abandoned the school except for one. Ruby went to school to a classroom that was just her and the one teacher.

She refused to eat any food that wasn’t pre-packaged and sealed because they threatened to poison her.⁠

Ruby is only 65 years old today.