Was Ruby Bridges old when she fought racism? No, she was not. She was a kid. Ruby Bridges deserves a monument because she fought racism by herself. She was the first Black American to go to a White school in New Orleans. It was William Frantz Elementary. She was six. She fought racism because they didn’t want Black people at a White school. Bill Clinton gave her a gold medal. She met Barack Obama and she got an award. She was a brave person. And she was a person of the United States. She was good at many things. They don’t want to take her school down because it is a monument. And you can locate her house.
–Colby, Age 9, Courageous, Eccentric, Diverse: New Monuments for New Orleans
Written by the third graders of Homer A. Plessy Community School, this book is about who and what should replace the recently-removed Confederate monuments in New Orleans. From pelicans to Ruby Bridges to beignets to the Houma Tribe, Courageous, Eccentric Diverse is full of spectacular suggestions for New Orleans’s public spaces—space meant for all people.
This past July, the incredible work of our 826 New Orleans students was featured in Buzzfeed News. Social news editor, Stephanie McNeal, took notice of our young writers when fellow author, Daniel José Older, tweeted about their published work. People on Twitter fell in love with our 826 authors and their proposals for monuments that better represent the diversity of New Orleans. We are so proud of all of our 826 students’ hard work and we are thrilled to be able to share this excitement with everyone!
