Ruby Bridges McDonogh Three Track

Ruby Bridges (1960) Six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first Black child to desegregate an all-white elementary school in the South when she walked into William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans on November 14, 1960. Federal marshals escorted her past screaming white protesters who threatened violence. For her entire first year, she was the only student in her class—white parents had pulled their children out. Her teacher, Barbara Henry (a white woman from Boston), taught Ruby alone in an empty classroom. Despite the hatred directed at her family, including her father losing his job, Ruby attended school every day. The iconic Norman Rockwell painting "The Problem We All Live With" immortalized her courage.

The Mcdonough Three (1960) Just months before Ruby Bridges, three other six-year-old Black girls—Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost, and Gail Etienne—integrated McDonogh No. 19 Elementary School in New Orleans on the same day, November 14, 1960. They also faced violent mobs, complete boycotts by white families, and spent their year in a nearly empty school. Though their story is less widely known than Ruby's, these three girls showed the same extraordinary bravery, walking through crowds of angry protesters to attend school. Their families also faced severe retaliation—lost jobs, threats, and isolation.

Together, these four first-graders helped dismantle school segregation in New Orleans, enduring hatred that no child should face, simply for wanting an education.