What was the name of the elementary school that Ruby Bridges integrated in New Orleans in 1960?

Ruby Bridges integrated William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans in 1960.

Bridges was six years old when she entered the previously all-white school on November 14, 1960. She was one of six Black children selected to test New Orleans’ compliance with federal desegregation orders, but she became the only Black child assigned to William Frantz that year.

Federal marshals escorted Bridges because Louisiana officials and angry protesters resisted integration. For much of her first year, she was taught alone after white families withdrew their children. Her teacher, Barbara Henry, was the only educator willing to teach her.

The events in New Orleans followed Brown v. Board of Education and illustrated how local resistance delayed school desegregation. Norman Rockwell later portrayed Bridges’ escorted walk to school in his 1964 painting “The Problem We All Live With.” Bridges continued to speak publicly about education, tolerance, and civil rights.