Prominent Civil Rights Figure Ruby Bridges Publishes Love Letter to Her First-Grade Teacher

Ruby Bridges being escorted out of William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, 1960.

At the center of the commotion wasRuby Bridges, a 6-year-old girl accompanied by U.S. She was the first Black student to integrate the school, at the height of thecivil rights movement.

Now, through her new childrens book, Bridges pays tribute to that teacher: Mrs. Barbara Henry.

Shes like another mom to me, Bridges, 70, toldTODAYin an interview.

I would not have gotten through that if it had not been for my teacher.

This one teacher came from Boston to teach me.

I didnt have any friends, and I had gotten so close to her.

It would take nearly 35 years for the pair to reunite again, in 1995.

Even then, Bridges couldnt emphasize enough how much Mrs. Henrys support meant.

After all, teaching, as Bridges writes in the book, is really the noblest of professions.

Ruby Bridges: A Talk with My Teacheris currently available viaBookshop.

Ruby Bridges at the Mayo Speaker Series in 2015.