NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Civil rights icon Ruby Bridges made a powerful appearance during New York Fashion Week that left many in the audience in tears.
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Bridges, who in 1960 became the first Black child to integrate William Frantz Elementary, an all-white elementary school in New Orleans, surprised attendees at the “Actively Black” runway show when she walked on stage after a reenactment of her historic story.
The show’s creator, Lanny Smith, wrote on Instagram that the concept was designed to remind people how recent school desegregation was. The production included clips from a banned documentary showing the racist hostility Bridges endured as a child.
A young girl named Emma portrayed a 6-year-old Ruby during the show, walking in silence as the crowd listened to recordings of hateful chants similar to those Bridges faced on her way to class.
The audience then erupted with emotion when Bridges herself appeared and walked the runway.
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“For all of those walks she had to endure with so much hate, I wanted her to walk again and feel all that love,” Smith wrote on Instagram.
Bridges, now 71, has remained a national symbol of courage and perseverance.
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