Civil rights icon Ruby Bridges says she may not have made it through her first year of integrating her all-white public elementary school in 1960, if not for a first grade teacher who became her "best friend."
Nearly 65 years later, that bond is as strong as ever between Bridges and retired teacher Barbara Henry.
"She’s like another mom to me," Bridges said on TODAY on Feb. 18.
The two forged a friendship as teacher and pupil under perilous circumstances at William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, and their bond is the subject of Bridges' new children's book. The activist and author is bringing her story to a new generation with "Ruby Bridges: A Talk with My Teacher."
Henry created a sanctuary for Bridges while white protesters outside the building railed against the school being desegregated. Bridges, who was 6 years old at the time, had to be walked into the building by federal marshals amid shouting and threats from white protesters.
Many white families withdrew their children from the school due to her presence, while Bridges previously told TODAY.com that other white students were kept away from her by the school’s principal.
Bridges attended classes alone for a full year, with only Henry there to teach her.
"She filled my day with things to do," Bridges said on TODAY. "She made school fun. I enjoyed learning. Even though the crowd was outside screaming and yelling, she would go to the window and close the window, and she’s say ‘Oh, we’re going to have music today,’ just to drown out everything.
“We often say, both of us, she and I, that despite all the hate that was going on outside, inside that room it was filled with love.”
Henry, who is originally from Boston, would not be dissuaded at a time when many teachers at William Frantz Elementary School quit their jobs or refused to work while a Black child was part of the student body.
"I would not have gotten through that if it had not been for my teacher," Bridges said. "And as you know, teachers really quit their jobs back then because they didn't want to teach Black kids. This one teacher came from Boston to teach me. She was amazing."
Bridges said she was not allowed to go out for recess or eat her lunch in the school cafeteria, which led to her hiding her lunch in Henry's classroom.
"Like any 6-year-old, you want friends," Bridges said. "And I remembered what kindergarten was like, that all of the kids met in the cafeteria, so I thought I’m never going to make friends if I don’t get to the cafeteria.
"That prompted me to hide my sandwiches, until the mice got really bad. And she found the sandwiches, and I was in a world of trouble."
Bridges, 70, realized how important the bond was with Henry when she matriculated to the second grade in the 1961-62 school year.
"I have to say that second grade was much worse for me than first because she was my best friend," Bridges said. "I didn't have any friends, and I had gotten so close to her.
"And I was so excited about going back for second grade, telling her what my summer was like, happy to see her again, and she was gone."
More than six decades later, Henry's kindness still resonates with Bridges.
"I think that each and every one of us, we probably remember one teacher that made an impact in our lives, and she was the one for me," she said.
Bridges' story of integration was one of many from the civil rights era, but it has particularly endured. The scene of a tiny first grader being escorted to school by federal marshals also lives on in the form of the iconic Norman Rockwell painting, "The Problem We All Live With."
"It's that one lone child," Bridges said. "That innocence that we all see when we see that painting. How could that have happened to a 6-year-old? Innocence. And I think that affects each and every one of us when we see it, still to this very day."
She also believes the moment can continue to deliver a strong message to the children of today.
"And for kids, I think that they resonate with it," she said. "Every kid remembers someone not wanting to play with them, not giving them a chance. And I think that resonates with them."
