There are just a couple of slots open for districts to participate in a special livestream event featuring Ruby Bridges who will be in Topeka on Nov. 14. The civil rights icon will host an in-person “fireside chat” with several area middle and high school students at Washburn University, in Topeka, to celebrate Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day.
There is still time for districts outside of Shawnee, Douglas, Sedgwick, Wyandotte and Johnson counties to participate in the livestream of the event, 11 a.m.-12:45 p.m., on Nov. 14.
How to apply
Qualifying schools interested in receiving the livestream must submit an email to RubyBridgesEvent@ksde.org no later than Wednesday, Oct. 30.
The email must include the following:
- Name of school
- District
- Name of school contact
- Phone number for school contact
- A description of how the live stream event will be utilized by the school.
KSDE will select the ten participating schools using a lottery system. Selected schools will be notified by Nov. 6. Email RubyBridgesEvent@ksde.org with questions.
The Nov. 14 event will include Bridges reading from her book, This Is Your Time, and a discussion of civil rights, resilience, and youth empowerment. There also will be Q&A with the students attending the in-person event.
Districts, schools, clubs, church and community groups are encouraged to sign up to participate in Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. Click here for ideas on how your school can participate in the Day of Dialogue.
About Ruby Bridges
Following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision to desegregate schools, Ruby Bridges was one of six Black students in New Orleans to pass a test that determined whether they could attend the all-white William Frantz Elementary School. Of the six, Ruby was the only student to end up attending the school. Due to racial tensions, U.S. Marshals were called in to escort Bridges to and from school, captured in the iconic 1964 Norman Rockwell painting, “The Problem We All Live With.”
Today, Bridges chairs the Ruby Bridges Foundation, which seeks to “offer programs and resources to guide and support younger generations on their pathway toward a more peaceful and harmonious future.”