Ruby Bridges (1954- )

Bridges probably had no idea that the bold act she committed in 1960 would set off a chain reaction leading to the integration of schools in the South. She was just 6 years old when she became the first African American student to attend William Frantz Elementary in Louisiana at the height of desegregation. Now the Ruby Bridges Foundation exists to “inspire the next generation of leaders to end racism together one step at a time.”