Ruby Bridges
Kids really don't care about what their friends look like.
Once my school was integrated, and I was there with white kids and a few black kids, it really didn't matter to us what we looked like.
My mother and our pastor always said you have to pray for your enemies and people who do you wrong, and that's what I did.
I do think that some people are born as old souls.
If kids have the oportunity to come together to get to know one another, they can judge for themselves who they want their friends to be. All children should have that choice. We, as adults, shouldn't make those choices for children. That's how racism starts.
Somehow, it always worked. Kneeling at the side of my bed and talking to the Lord made everything okay.
Our babies know nothing about hate or racism. But soon they begin to learn - and only from us.
When the scary subject of race is finally broached, kids want to talk and talk. It's very satisfying.
We all have a common enemy, and it is evil.
When I think about our babies today and them not being safe in school, I think that should be the next civil rights movement, you know, is to ban the assault weapons so that our babies can be safe.
Throughout my life, my prayers have actively sustained me - held me up, carried me through.
That's really what my work is all about - bringing kids together.
I felt like there was something I needed to do - speaking to kids and sharing my story with them and helping them understand racism has no place in the minds and hearts of children.
I like to share my story with children, and they are amazed by the story.
If we're gonna get past our our racial differences, it's gonna come from our kids, but they have to be together to do that.
What I do remember about first grade and that year was that it was very lonely. I didn't have any friends, and I wasn't allowed to go to the cafeteria or play on the playground. What bothered me most was the loneliness in school every day.
It's not who you're going to sit beside at school that matters now: it's what resources will your school have.
I'm the mother of four.
There are all kinds of monuments to adults - usually dead and usually white. But we don't often lift up the extraordinary work of children.
Administrations and administrative faculty work very hard to see that schools are diverse as much as possible.
Don't follow the path. Go where there is no path and begin the trail. When you start a new trail equipped with courage, strength and conviction, the only thing that can stop you is you!Collection: Path
Each and every one of us is born with a clean heart. Our babies know nothing about hate or racism. But soon they begin to learn – and only from us. We keep racism alive. We pass it on to our children. We owe it to our children to help them keep their clean start.Collection: Baby
Racism is a grown-up disease and we must stop using our children to spread it.Collection: Children
My message is really that racism has no place in the hearts and minds of our children.Collection: Children
I now know that experience comes to us for a purpose, and if we follow the guidance of the spirit within us, we will probably find that the purpose is a good one.Collection: Purpose
Kids know nothing about racism. They're taught that by adults.Collection: Kids