5th Graders' Campaign Lands Honor for Ruby Bridges

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/84829237.html
By Erin Richards of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Feb. 20, 2010 |(9) Comments

The efforts of about 15 first-graders who sought to raise awareness of an African-American civil rights pioneer were rewarded with the ultimate Black History Month activity Friday: a personal visit from the very heroine they have championed for a year.

Ruby Bridges - who, as a first-grader in 1960, was the first black child to attend the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans - flew to Milwaukee on Friday to personally thank Barton Elementary School and the group of students who petitioned the federal government to recognize her integration efforts 49 years ago.

Based on the awareness campaign launched last year by teacher Laura Floryance and her students, Congress passed a resolution this month honoring Bridges for her bravery and recognizing Nov. 14, 1960, as the first day of integrated schools in New Orleans.

The House resolution was sponsored by Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee), while a Senate version of the resolution was sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin).

The legislators pushed for the resolutions because of Floryance's first-grade class, which gathered 2,213 signatures on a petition between February and May 2009.

Floryance said she teaches about Bridges every year because her predominantly African-American students identify with a child their age who did something remarkable. When plans for a Bridges video project fell through last February, however, she asked the children what they should do instead.

"What do you think people need to know?" asked Floryance, who now teaches in Georgia.
Kids start petition drive

The children settled on gathering signatures on a petition to send to President Barack Obama, asking for national recognition for Bridges. News of the project spread, and signatures of students from all over the district and across the country poured in. Although they never heard back from Obama, Floryance received a call from Feingold's office in November.

"I told him the kids would be thrilled with just a letter back commending them for their efforts," Floryance said. "And he said, 'We're going to push for a resolution.' "

Floryance, who still makes frequent trips back to Milwaukee and Barton, said they hope to keep pushing the Ruby Bridges story to see if they can make Nov. 14 a national day of celebration, to get it listed on popular calendars.

"If it weren't for this group of kids, most of America would still have no idea who Ruby Bridges is," said Barton Principal Brian Babbitts, who added that even he hadn't heard much about Bridges until the project snowballed and attracted the attention of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Gov. Jim Doyle and lawmakers in Washington.

"It's been an educational experience for these students to educate others, as well as a lesson on civil rights," Babbitts said.

According to Bridges' accounts of her experiences, she and five other black students were chosen to attend white schools after segregated schools were ruled unconstitutional in 1954. On Nov. 14, 1960, Bridges walked through angry crowds to William Frantz and spent the entire first day at school in the principal's office with her mother, while protesters yelled at them through the window.
Norman Rockwell moment

Bridges' experiences became the subject of a famous Norman Rockwell painting, "The Problem We All Live With." The scene depicts a black girl in a white dress being escorted to school by U.S. marshals, with tomatoes splattered on the wall behind her.

Eventually, Bridges married and became Ruby Bridges Hall. Now 55, she runs a foundation in New Orleans and is rebuilding the school she integrated almost half a century ago. William Frantz, located in the lower Ninth Ward, was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

"It's been a major campaign to get that school rebuilt," Bridges said at Barton on Friday. "I want to reopen the school and have it be focused on social justice and community service."

Bridges said the visit to Barton was different from other school visits, when she normally gives students a serious lecture about her experiences with racism.

"I find that kids know who I am, but adults often don't," Bridges said. "I'm geared to one group, and that's only been kids. Now we have to build a campaign to remind adults about this."

Savannah Anderson, 7, said she was excited to see Bridges in person after working on the petition last year. Thursday night, she laid out a fancy polka-dot dress and her good shoes to wear to school the next day.

Kim Anderson, Savannah's mother, said her daughter got very interested in the project. "So many other civil rights leaders have overshadowed (Bridges) for some reason, but her story is really important."

After dozens of photos, hugs and endless requests to sign various books about her story, Bridges said the event was a great way to kick off what will soon be the 50th anniversary of the first day she attended William Frantz.

In November, Bridges said, she's hoping to have a celebration in New Orleans. If all goes well, she said, she hopes the students at Barton who pushed for Congress to recognize her efforts will be able to attend.