The South Orange – Maplewood School District (SOMSD) will present American icon Ruby Bridges on Thursday, January 21 at Columbia High School at 7 p.m. The event is hosted by the Parenting Center & Elementary School PTAs.
The event is open to the SOMSD community, and seating is available on a first-come, first served basis.
Though I didn’t know it then, nor would I come to realize it for many years, what transpired in the fall of 1960 in New Orleans would forever change my life and help shape a nation. When I think back on that time and all that has occurred since, I realize a lot has changed. I also know there is much more to be done. That fateful walk to school began a journey, and we must all work together to continue moving forward. — Ruby Bridges
The first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South, Ms. Bridges has spent her life working for social justice. Students and community members will have the opportunity to hear about the civil rights era through Ms. Bridges’ first-hand accounts of her experiences during that landmark period in American history.
