Thank You, Ruby Bridges
by Laura C.

• PRINT
• EMAIL

Dear Ruby Bridges,

I believe that racism is like numbers. It seems to never stop. It goes on and on wherever you go. Even if you try to hide, it appears. Sometimes you don’t want to face it because it seems to always get complicated. And the older you are, the higher you go, the more problems you face, the more answers you need to find. You can run and you can hide, but it always seems to appear. Most people hate math because they can’t understand numbers. And some people hate people because they don’t understand race.

Most Americans today see racism as a lingering problem in the United States and many people can agree they know someone who is a racist. A racist is someone who discriminates against someone else due to his or her culture or skin color or religion. For whatever the reason, racists seem to breed racism. Someone who is a racist wasn’t born a racist. Babies aren’t born hating the skin color of another baby. They were born and raised among someone who is a racist. Therefore the only way to stop racism is to educate and re-educate people that racism and the racists are wrong.

Numbers can go on and on, but if enough people work at racism a solution can be found. So numbers and racism are different after all. Numbers can’t be stopped, but racism can be. Without numbers there’d be no complicated math problems. Without racism there’d be no people who feel discriminated. But if you can solve that complicated math problem you’d feel better. And if you can solve racism, you’d feel a whole lot better.

Sincerely,
Laura C., 6th grade, New Jersey

"Thank You, Ruby Bridges"

Click back to read more letters from this special report.