Shine On Ruby Poem by Jessie Gleason

Ruby Bridges was a young girl
Faced with the depression of segregation
But she wanted a good education
She wanted to go to school
The day the schools integrated
She walked to school alone
They threw rocks and sticks and protested
'Why is a BLACK girl in OUR children's schools? '
Her school was a prison
Kids laughed and made jokes
Her teacher was nice though
And she began to learn
Each day she arrived with African American guards
Protecting a young innocent girl
The people still threw rocks
They still threw sticks
They still protested
But each day the crowd began to thin
And each person gone let a ray of hope in
Eventually they came no more
To throw rocks
Or sticks
Or protest
But still, she was not accepted
What a difference she made though
An African American girl who was not
Hurt by rocks
Hurt by sticks
Hurt by the brutal protests
She never lost hope
Though they wounded her soul
Because she was a brave little girl