Witnessing Ruby Bridges

 Today my family watched Disney's Ruby Bridges, a 1998 episode of "Wonderful World of Disney" that tells the story of Ruby Bridges, a 6-year-old girl in New Orleans who, in 1960, was the sole black student in a school resisting desegregation.

Though the movie has all the characteristics of a Disney family-friendly live film--a comical musical score, pedantic and moralistic lines, and characters that border on stereotypical--it packs quite a wallop for a family with young children. (IMDB advises not showing it to children under 10; our family has an 8-year-old.) Although it avoids the curse-words that would earn it an "R" rating, it does employ "nigger" in an honest historical way, as well as other racial slurs. And given the happy-go-lucky vibe of most Disney films, the emotional strength with which segregationist sentiment appears struck me deeply.

What struck me even more powerfully was the way in which the film portrays the complexity of blacks' struggles in the fight for desegregation. Though a 90-minute Disney film can only get so nuanced, as an adult I saw clearly the themes of blacks' desire to avoid additional suffering, the cracking of relationships with mutually oppressed groups (like Jews), and the divides between working class blacks and those more financially secure. I was left with the clear image of a richly layered history and society represented by, but also standing behind, Ruby Bridges.

All of these features in one film made it an excellent choice for watching with my family. My children could ask questions about what the characters said and why; I could add commentary on what we saw in order to clarify or emphasize what I thought was important. And the focus on schoolchildren seemed to hold the interest of my kids better than an all-adult cast would do.

Kudos to Disney for producing such an honest, enlightening, and accessible depiction of the desegregation crisis of 1960. Kudos for encouraging Americans to watch it on this day, November 14th 2020, the 60th anniversary of Ruby Bridges' (and her mother's, and the black community's) bold grasp of the promise of desegregation. I hope that by watching it we may gain new resolve to change America into a better place, especially for children of color.

~ emrys