Skip to main content

A Walk of Change

One of the things that a person has to do to affect change is to be part of change. In the state of Louisiana like other states of the south, Black children could not attend any public schools alongside their white counterparts. But on November 14, 1960, a six year old girl, with two federal agents to her front and two in back, began a Walk of Change into the William Frantz School in New Orleans to become the first Black person to be admitted to an all-white elementary school.
Young Ms. Bridges was born on September 8, 1954 in Tylertown Mississippi. Raised on a farm with her parents and grandparents who were sharecroppers (sharecroppers were people who would pick cotton or whatever crop grew by the owner and would receive food and lodging for their work which
was still similar to slavery). After moving to New Orleans she took a test to enter into the school and began her educational journey. Ms. Bridges was jeered everyday by parents of white students, one who threatened to poison her lunch. Young Ms. Bridges would hide the lunches made by her mom thinking they were poisoned. This what happens when there is a Walk of Change.
Once Ms. Bridges was allowed in school there were no other students who was in the class with her so she just was in the class with the one teacher who would teach her, Barbara Henry, who was originally from Boston. So it was not only the students who refused to be bothered with her but the
educators as well. Her father lost his job, her grandparents where kicked off the land they were sharecropping at and there were threats on the whole household. They could shop at the local grocery store and of course with change you had other Blacks who questioned why. Today I Introduce to some and present to others Ms. Ruby Bridges who took a Walk of Change.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Can Do This By Myself

On of the things that is happening today is the intense presence of social media. Every action, movement or word can be captured on some type of device. James Meredith set out on a March for Freedom of the Colored People (another of the many names for Blacks back then) in June of 1966 and wanted to do it alone. No help from other civil rights people of the time but he wanted to do it by himself. In changing the landscape for Black people, James Meredith said. I Can Do This By Myself. Born June 25, 1933 in Kosciusko Mississippi, he was raised on a farm and never saw racism before until he was riding the train from Chicago back home and had to not only give up his seat but stand the entire ride home. After that he promised to help begin changes to the status quo. He first began after leaving the U.S. Air Force,by registering to attend the University of Mississippi where he applied and was accepted but denied because he was a Negro. He was eventually allowed to enter the school on...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Invaders

In looking at more Unheralded Heroes I go back to time of the Memphis Sanitation strikes in 1968. This strike was a big movement for the Negro at that time. Dr. Martin Luther King saw this a chance to continue the message of non-violence in Memphis. But a group of young men had energized the youth of this area and looked at non-violence as not working and wanted to change the approach of being treated like any other American. This group was called the Invaders and they are the Unheralded Heroes I want to feature today. "Inspired by militant black leaders like Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael, a new, radicalized generation of civil rights activists made up of young college students, Vietnam vets, musicians, and . intellectuals emerged in Memphis in 1967. The Invaders espoused Black Power and, when pushed, did not limit themselves to non-violence"(http://www.prichardsmith.com/portfolio/the-invaders). Because the vocabulary and the actions of the Invaders were about Bla...
Post a Comment
Read more