The DEI Parent group is highlighting Ruby Bridges for Black History Month
Written by GISSV's DEI Committee
Ruby Bridges is a civil rights activist who focuses on educating children. As New Orleans took steps to integrate public schools, Ruby was assigned to a previously all
white school at age 6. The white families objected strenuously. They gathered at the school entrance shouting obscenities every day and refused to allow their children to be
in the same classroom with Ruby. The crowd was so violent that she was escorted by four federal marshals each day. The school hired a teacher from Massachusetts to
teach Ruby as her sole student. Ruby responded to this turmoil with grace and empathy. One morning her teacher noticed her speaking to the angry crowd. When
Ruby entered the classroom; the teacher asked her what she said to them. Ruby responded that she was not speaking to them. She was praying for them.
Her message to children today is that no one is born a racist. Racism is rooted in the Zeitgeist in which children are raised. The most effective way to combat racism is to
teach children that all of us are brothers and sisters.
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The DEI/DRIN parent group welcomes article contributions from the GISSV community related to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) or Diversität, Repräsentation, Inklusion, Normkritik (DRIN) activities on campus.
Join us at our next monthly meeting on March 14! Usually, meetings are held every second Tuesday of each month, but in February we will move it up a week to accommodate the winter break. Both German and English speakers are welcome.
Click here to join the meeting
Questions? Contributions? Email dei-parents@gissv.org.
Photo: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza