Through My Eyes: The Autobiography of Ruby Bridges

Title: Through My Eyes: The Autobiography of Ruby Bridges
2000 NCTE Orbis Pictus Winner
Author: Ruby Bridges/ edited by Margo Lundell
Published: 1999
Interesting Facts: (1) Mrs. Henry talks about her time as Ruby's first grade teacher, " To help Ruby, I tried to explain integration more than once...I didn't want to allow hate to enter her life and in any way diminish her beautiful spirit...I told her that the other children would come back to school eventually. When she asked how soon that would be, I had no answer. Ruby never complained, but I knew she was lonely (2) Ruby talks about an incident that happened on the playground at the end of her first year of school, "...a little white boy refused to play with me. 'I can't play with you...My mama said not to because you're a nigger...' I would have done the same thing. If my mama said not to do something, I didn't do it" (50). (3) Ruby talks about the impact that 1960 had on her family life, " I think the pressure my family was under in 1960 caused serious problems in the marriage...After my parents separated, my mother moved us children out of our house on France Street and into a housing project. Over the next few years, my mother had a rough time financially" (pg 56). (4) Ruby talks about her educational opportunities after high school. "After graduating from high school, I remember wanting to go to college. I regret not having that experience. My mother thought doors would automatically open for me as a result of what I had accomplished in 1960, but there was no one around to help lead me through those doors as I was led through the doors of William Frantz" (pg 56-57). (5) Ruby talks about her feelings regarding 1960, " For a long time, I was tempted to feel bitter about the school integration experience, not understanding why I had to go through it and go through it alone. Now I know it was meant to be that way. People are touched by the story of the black child who was so alone (pg 60).
Curriculum Suggestion:
US National History Standards, Grades K-4, Standard 4B: Identify ordinary people who have believed in the fundamental democratic values such as justice, truth, equality, the rights of the individual, and responsibility for the common good, and explain their significance.

US National History Standards, Grades 5-12, Postwar United States, Standard 4A: Explain the resistance to civil rights in the South between 1954 and 1965