Ruby Bridges 64 Years Later

December 18, 2023

Ruby Bridges was six years old in 1960. You’ve probably seen her picture. She’s the diminutive Black child walking between federal marshals as she broke a previously impenetrable barrier and integrated a New Orleans public school. 

 

It’s 64 years later, and on January 24th at 5:30 p.m. Ruby Bridges will be speaking at Woolsey Hall. Her voice now, as then, is strong. So is her faith, her commitment to equality, and her fearlessness in the face of prejudice. And, remarkably enough, so is her optimism. Ruby Bridges’ voice is well worth hearing as a source of inspiration. It comes from a genuine witness to history.

 

Ruby’s appearance will take place just over a week after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which serves as another reminder of how far we have come on a long journey, and how much farther there is to go.

 

Healthcare is one of the areas where antiracism and true equity has yet to find firm footing. Structural racism continues to be a barrier to achieving optimal environmental, educational, and health outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC).   Ongoing disparities in educational opportunities for BIPOC people in health professions programs continue to persist. Professional nursing and medical organizations are still urgently calling for actions that contribute to workforce equity through diversification of the landscape of healthcare professionals. This has not yet been realized to a degree that can inform systems change and impact outcomes for people who do not identify as White. To that end, virtually every survey of health outcomes for BIPOC people tells us we have a long way to go to achieve equity. 

 

Evidence and experiential anecdotes quantify and qualify the detrimental and debilitating effects of systemic barriers to realizing Dr. King’s dream. Life expectancy is lower for people who are racialized as Black, with even greater declines in life expectancy due to the Covid pandemic. Infants who are racialized as Black are more than twice as likely to die than infants who are racialized as White. Pregnancy-related mortality is 2.5 to 4 times higher for pregnant people who are racialized as Black. Research consistently shows that there are gaps in the way that people who are racialized as Black are treated for heart disease, cancer, and many other life-threatening diseases. 

 

Research also shows that a remarkably and discouragingly high percentage of people who are racialized as Black report experiencing dismissive, insulting, or outright prejudicial attitudes from healthcare providers.

MLK Day and Ruby Bridges’ presentation offer an opportunity and invitation for us to all consider what we can do to move more rapidly along the path to systemic transformation toward environmental, educational and healthcare equity—an achievement that would be in everyone’s best interest.

 

Dean and Linda Koch Lorimer Professor of Nursing

 

Associate Dean of Equity