PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Today is Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day, which commemorates when 6-year-old Ruby Bridges integrated a New Orleans School in 1960. To honor the historic day, there will be observances in the area. Students around the area will walk to school in the cold with teachers and parents, just as Bridges did. The Providence City Council passed a resolution last week proclaiming today as “Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day.” It’s also observed around the country. According to the Ruby Bridges Foundation, over 650,000 participants walked in 2023. Bridges was the only black student at the William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. On her first day, every white parent pulled their child out, and she dealt with vitriol from other parents for the rest of the school year. The only teacher to teach Bridges was Barbara Henry, a white teacher originally from Boston. Bridges is now 70-year-old and lives in New Orleans. Categories: News