Roughly 100 Johnson Elementary students walked to school Tuesday morning, some sporting armbands decorated with the words “justice,” “equity,” and “inclusion” at the town’s first-ever Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day.
On Nov. 14, 1960, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges walked to William Frantz Elementary in Louisiana, becoming the first Black student to attend the formerly white-only school.
Accompanied by U.S. Marshalls and bombarded with blatant racist threats day-to-day, Bridges became known in American history as a civil rights trademark and one of the figureheads of the desegregation movement. In honor of Bridges, students in school districts across the country walked to school on Tuesday.
Last week, Johnson students learned about Bridges’ famous walk and made their yellow armbands, meant to resemble those worn by the U.S. Marshalls, to wear on their walk to school.
“I want to make a lesson out of it,” Johnson School Principal Kevin Andrews said. “It’s a good chance for the kids to connect with the curriculum. In this case, the students got to learn some new vocabulary words. And were given a chance to show their support for inclusion and equity.”
As the children formed a line in front of the school door, Adjustment Counselor Rylie Edmonds placed a blue sticker on the coats of students who participated in the walk. Harper and Kinsley Yeager, who attended Johnson as kindergarten and first-grade students, respectively, spoke about the lessons they learned from the Bridges story.
While Kinsley said she learned about the importance of “not fighting” and fairness, Harper said she learned that it was “important to be inclusive.”
Nahant School Committee member Beth Anderson, who walked her child to school Tuesday morning, said that as a mother in a multi-racial family, she was especially pleased to see children in Nahant learn about the struggle for desegregation and school integration.
“For a school that is predominantly white to know how important this is for all of our history and invest by having the students and the families walk to school and recreate that walk. Especially seeing them all wearing armbands that said things like ‘justice’ or ‘inclusion,’ it was powerful,” Anderson said. “It’s important for all of us. This is all of our history, and the more the United States realizes that, the less polarized we’re going to be.”
In Marblehead, a number of students at the Community Charter Public School also participated in the walk. Holding a purple banner with the “Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day” logo, students and staff went from 62 Pleasant St. to the school.
“They carried a banner to Walk to School Day for Ruby Bridges, and they were really proud to carry the banner,” said Jordan Shane, a physical education teacher at MCCPS. “Seeing how happy they were made it worth it.”
Inside, students gathered for their daily community meeting, which takes place 15 minutes before the start of school. In honor of Bridges, Tuesday morning’s meeting involved a presentation on Bridges and the significance of her historic first walk.
Shane said that a seventh-grade student shared her comments during the meeting. She said it’s important to reflect on the past and never forget history. She also noted that all her classmates can attend the same school, regardless of their color, because of Bridges.
“I thought it was really cool to see the kids make that connection,” Shane said. “I think that’s the whole reason we wanted this thoughtful organization of this day.”
School Psychologist Melissa Deleo commented on the significance of teaching kids about Bridges because “this is a dialogue that we still need to have today.”
“It was awesome to have one of our older kids in the building be able to summarize what the importance of this walk was about. To hear it from the mouths of one of our students really showed us the impact that this had,” Deleo said.
In Lynnfield, students from Summer Street and Huckleberry Hill Schools participated in the walk, read “I Am Ruby Bridges,” and discussed the book in their classes.
“We are thrilled to participate in this meaningful day,” said Kristen Vogel, superintendent of schools. “We appreciate the support we have from our educators and community members who volunteered to participate by reading I am Ruby Bridges to several classrooms at both elementary schools.”
Lynnfield resident and Senior Manager of Government Affairs at AAA Northeast Christina Hayman said that participating in Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day offers educators an opportunity to connect lessons to civic engagement.
“We take pride in the fact that a fifth-grade AAA School Safety Patrol student recognized the importance of civil rights and took a leadership role in her community,” Hayman said. “Students need the opportunity to make tangible connections to social justice. Ruby Bridges is an ideal role model and example of the courage required for social change.”
