Norman Rockwell: American Freedom - Ruby Bridges

Once I saw that painting, I realized that there were, there was something much bigger than myself that I needed to pursue and be involved in. So I think that that sort of put me on my quest to tell my story and to work with kids, which is what I do today. So that particular day, when I was in the car being escorted to school, when we turned the corner, the streets were lined with protesters. And they were barricaded, because that's how the police had set it up. There were policemen everywhere. I remember being escorted straight to the principal's office. But I sat in the principal's office, actually all day, with my mom that day. And I remember the federal marshals standing right outside the doors. You could see them. And the next thing that I saw was all of those people that had been standing outside, rushing in, shoving and pushing and pointing at me through the windows. Their faces seemed very angry about something. Just seemed really busy and confusing to me. And I saw them pass the window. And when they would come back by the window, there were kids with them. And that happened all day long, back and forth. Finally, the bell rang. It was 3 o'clock. And I remember someone entering the room and saying, school is dismissed. You can leave. And I distinctly remember that, because I thought to myself, wow, this school is easy. Not knowing that what was really happening is that parents rushed into the school and went into every classroom and pulled out every child. There were over 500 kids that actually left the building that day. And it was because I was there. So I had no idea that that was taking place right before my eyes. The second day, once I returned, I remember being escorted into the building. And the building seemed very different. It was so quiet. You could hear a pin drop. And the federal marshal was turning me around and walked me down the hall to this classroom. And once I got there, the door opened and this woman stepped out. And she said, hi, my name is Mrs. Henry. I'm your teacher. I knew that she cared about me. We did amazing things in school. But I remember the questions that I would ask her was about why I didn't see any kids. And that was very strange for me, because I was accustomed to school. But as time went on, I would hear kids. Then I would mention it to Mrs. Henry, Mrs. Henry, I hear kids. And she would never say anything. I thought she was ignoring me when really what she was doing is going to the principal and saying that you are breaking the law. The law has changed. And kids can be together now, but you're hiding them from Ruby. And I think that forced them to allow me to interact with those other kids. And so I'll never forget that day. You know, I was just filled with joy because I sort of felt like I'd finally found some friends. But I have to say that that is the day that I really got a very rude awakening. And because that's when the little boy said, I can't play with you. My mom said not to play with you because you're a nigger. And when he said that, even at six, I felt like this huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Because I had spent so much time trying to figure it all out. Like, where were the kids? Why I was the only kid in the school? Why it seemed so different? And finally he said that it was all because of me and the color of my skin. He made it all make sense. That was an eye-opening moment for me.