TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Today marks “Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day,” and a local school is honoring the civil rights activist’s work with their 3rd annual Ruby Bridges Walk event.
Hundreds of students have gathered at Nosotros Academy to celebrate the legacy of the civil rights leader.
Education can inspire kids and change lives
And that’s not lost on the students of Nosotros Academy.
"She went to school and she started first in kindergarten and she walked in," 2nd Grader Isaac Castillo said. "All the white people were shouting at her because they wanted it just to be a white school.
That’s pretty sad.
Castillo is about the same age as Bridges was at the time, just six years old, when she became the first African American child to integrate an all-white school.
Bridges' courage is not lost on the students of Nosotros.
"If she had never gone through what she had gone through, then I would have never gotten this opportunity to feel welcomed and accepted in a community like this," Student Alexianna Watts said.
"There are people I know who are of that color, and it’s thanks to her that we get to share that experience with them," Student Joseph Sandoval said.
The three students shared their dreams with KGUN 9
"When I grow up, I would want to be something in mental and social health," Watts said.
"I want to be an astronomer," Sandoval said.
"I really want to go and be an astronaut," Castillo said. "It’s because I want to go to the moon."
They say it's because of Bridges' bravery that they’re able to chase their dreams, and it's the reason they walk every year.
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