Ruby Bridges Honored for 66-Year Legacy in Civil Rights Movement

AUGUSTA, Ga. — On Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, hundreds gathered at Lucy C. Laney Memorial Stadium to honor Ruby Bridges, the civil rights icon who, at age 6, became one of the first Black students to integrate an all-white elementary school in the South. The event commemorated her 66-year legacy and her family’s fight against segregation.

Participants walked five blocks, symbolizing the distance Bridges walked daily to attend William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans in 1960. The walk was part of a broader tribute to her courage and the ongoing push for inclusion and diversity. Taylor Davis, a cast member of the Augusta Junior Players’ upcoming performance of “Ruby: The Story of Ruby Bridges,” said the event was a way to say thank you. “We know what you had to do to accomplish what you did,” Davis said. “It’s just a big thank you to Ruby Bridges, honestly.”

Bridges, now 70, also spoke to nearly 2,000 people at Berry College in Rome, Ga., on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Her conversation, facilitated by Berry student Sydney Layne, was simulcast to an overflow crowd. Bridges recounted her experience as one of six Black children who passed a rigorous test to integrate schools in New Orleans. “I remember taking this test, and I remember that because it was the first time I had taken the streetcar in New Orleans,” she said. “What protected me was the innocence of a child.”

Bridges described her first day at William Frantz Elementary, escorted by four U.S. marshals. “I saw what most of the country saw: lots of people standing out in front of the school, screaming, shouting, and throwing things,” she said. “I assumed it was some kind of Mardi Gras parade. No six-year-old would come to the conclusion that the crowd was there to harm me unless you told them.”

Bridges emphasized that racism is a “grown-up disease” and praised her parents for shielding her from the hatred she faced. Today, she works as a civil rights activist, author, and speaker, and founded the Ruby Bridges Foundation to promote diversity and leadership. In March 2024, she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

The Berry College event was part of the Conson Wilson Lecture Series, sponsored by the GHD Foundation. It coincided with the 60th anniversary of the college’s integration and the start of Be Love Week, a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of service.

Meanwhile, the Augusta Junior Players will perform “Ruby: The Story of Ruby Bridges” on Feb. 7 and 8 at the Kroc Center in downtown Augusta. The play aims to educate audiences about Bridges’ historic role in the civil rights movement.