Robert Coles (1) (1929–)

Child psychiatrist Robert Coles, is (according to journalist Scott London) perhaps “best known for his explorations of children's lives and books that explore their moral, political, and spiritual sensibilities.” He was eminently qualified to write a picture book about Ruby Bridges, the first African-American child to attend, in 1960, a whites-only elementary school. Coles apparently witnessed the six-year-old enter the school accompanied by armed US marshalls, and he subsequently supported the girl and her family through what can only be described as an ordeal.

This is a simple but beautiful and powerful picture book. It opens with a few details about Ruby’s early life. She was born in Mississippi where her daddy worked hard to support his family by picking crops. He lost that job when the owners of the land brought in farm equipment. The family subsequently moved to New Orleans, where her father got janitorial work and her mother stayed home with Ruby and her siblings by day and scrubbed the floors of banks by night. The family was extremely poor.

In 1960 when a judge ordered that four black girls were to be allowed to attend two white elementary schools (in the fully segregated New Orleans school system), the Bridges were proud that Ruby had been selected. They prayed for strength and courage and that the little girl would be “a credit to her people.” She was the only one of the four children to attend William Frantz Elementary.

Ruby was from a deeply spiritual family. Her mother wanted the children to feel “close to God” and ensured that everyone attended church every Sunday.

Familiar as I am with Ruby’s story and others similar to it, I have to say that reading a picture book about the hate spewed at this tidy little girl with a bow in her hair was enough to make me weep. She said not a word to those who called her names and threatened her. The abuse went on for months.

Also for months, Ruby was the only child in her grade-one class. Her teacher, Mrs. Henry, was struck by how polite and relaxed the girl was. There was no anxiety, irritability, or fear on display. Ruby was calmly committed to learning to read and write.

One morning from a school window, Mrs. Henry saw Ruby speaking to the people screaming at her. The teacher was later to find out that the little girl hadn’t been talking to them at all; she had been praying for these people who hated her, asking God to forgive them as Jesus had long ago forgiven those who’d been terrible to him. Uncharacteristically, that morning, Ruby had forgotten the prayers she usually said a few blocks before she reached the school, so she pronounced them at the school’s doorstep.

In an afterword, Coles explains that Ruby did not remain the sole student in the classroom. Later that year, a couple of white boys were sent back to school because they were getting into too much trouble at home. The mob was pretty angry with them, too. In time, however, more children returned, and by Ruby’s grade-two year, the hateful crowd had given up. The author also explains that Ruby finished elementary and high school, married a contractor, had four sons, and created The Ruby Bridges Foundation.

To conclude, I want to quote from Scott London’s excellent article on Coles, which I was very glad to have found online:

“Coles feels that we learn our most lasting moral lessons through stories. Storytelling, in the form of both personal narratives and the established literary tradition, gives us a fuller understanding of ourselves and the experiences of others. ‘The whole point of stories,’ he observes, ‘is not “solutions” or “resolutions” but a broadening and even heightening of our struggles.’ They remind us of what is important in life, admonish us, point us in new directions, engage us in self-reflection, and sometimes inspire us to lead lives of moral integrity. The beauty of a story, he says, is in its openness — ‘the way you or I can take it in, and use it for ourselves.’”

This simple picture book surely inspires young readers to understand something about the courage of a very young person in the face of hate. I can see it being used with children as young as Ruby was at the time of her experience and even with young teenagers.… (more)