Steven Colbert (host): Welcome back, everybody.
My next guest is an author, , and icon of American history. Her new book is Dear Ruby, Hear Our Hearts. Please welcome Ruby Bridges. [audience cheers] [jazzy music plays]
Thank you for being here. It’s so lovely to, to meet you. I, like so many people, have been inspired by the simple of your act at six years old to just go to school. Here you are, in Louisiana.
Ruby Bridges: Thank you.
Steven Colbert: You were... How old were you here?
Ruby Bridges: Six.
Steven Colbert: Six years old. And tell me about what you remember of, um, being a student in that class?
Ruby Bridges: Well, uh, I was the only student in the class for the whole year.

Steven Colbert: What do you... Tell me why.
Ruby Bridges: I started school, uh, kindergarten and first grade at an all-Black school, and then the moved through my community, knocked on my parents' door and said, "Would you be willing to send your six-year-old to an integrated school for the very first time in the city? It will allow her an opportunity to have a and possibly even go on to college." And my parents, both of them were sharecroppers from a little, tiny town in Mississippi, and, being educated was a luxury for them. If it was time for them to get the crops in, they couldn't go to school.
So, my mother jumped at the opportunity, signed me up, and there I was, headed to this integrated school.
Steven Colbert: What happened when you actually got there?
Ruby Bridges: Well, the day that, um, I arrived, federal marshals drove up, escorted me to school that day. We turned the corner and-

Steven Colbert: And that's the... That's who these people... That's who these-
Ruby Bridges: Those are federal marshals.
And so they escorted me that day, and when I turned the corner in front of this new school, there were of people screaming and and things.
I live in New Orleans, and I'm accustomed to , so I thought it was Mardi Gras that day. [laughs]
And I thought that I had ventured into a parade, and so I wasn't afraid at all. Uh, they opened the door and escorted my mom and I into the building. The minute I got into the building, they took me to the principal's office. And all of the crowd that was outside, they immediately rushed in behind me. And they started to run into every class, and they took every child out of the school. So, by the end of that day, 500 kids had . Or were taken out, I should say.
Steven Colbert: So, it was just you alone.
Ruby Bridges: Just me.
Steven Colbert: It eventually became,... Four years later, this became one of 's, most famous and, beloved paintings. It's called , and here are these men walking you in, and here's, here's a closeup of you.
Ruby Bridges: Yes.

Steven Colbert: As Ruby Bridges, the only figure that we can see in her here while these men are walking around you. What did you think of when you first saw this?
Ruby Bridges: I didn't see that until I was about 17. As a matter of fact, that entire year I spent in the classroom alone with a single teacher because teachers their jobs. They didn't wanna teach Black kids. And one teacher came from to teach me. She was white. She was an amazing teacher, became my best friend, like a second mom. And, you know, I knew, even though she looked exactly like the people outside that were screaming and seemed really angry, she wasn't like them at all. She showed me her heart. I knew that she cared about me. She made me feel safe. I loved school because of her. Um, I did not see that until I was 17. And then up until that moment, I it was an that just happened on my street and in my community. I mean, I was six. How was I to know it was a part of a much bigger movement, the Civil Rights Movement? I had no idea until I saw the painting.

Steven Colbert: Well, In your new book, Dear Ruby, Hear Our Hearts, you share letters from children concerned about issues from climate change to bullying to homelessness. At six, were you as aware of the world as these kids are today?
Ruby Bridges: Not at all. I often say that what really protected me was the of a child. The fact that I thought it was Mardi Gras… I thought that, you know, you had to actually take a test to be accepted into the school. And I passed it, and, you know, my parents and their friends were so excited. "Oh, my goodness, she's so smart." You know, "Oh, don't take her out. No one else could pass a test." I thought I was on my way to college.
These kids are totally different today.

Steven Colbert: In the last two years, 563 have been introduced across the country to how schools can teach about race and , with over 300 books on racism that have been pulled, including your own books.
Ruby Bridges: Yes.
Steven Colbert: And they've been in schools and libraries. How do you think we can fight a movement that wants to erase the history of your movement.
Ruby Bridges: Well, even though those books are banned, you can still purchase them. And I think that all of us should do that, because it's not just about the books. It's about your right to teach your children the way you want them to be taught. And the truth is you know, . None of us should have the right to change or alter history in any way. I mean, we need history to show us where we're going.

You know, some people say, "Oh, you can't teach this to kids because children, especially White children, will be with the truth of that." How do you think, how do you see that as you talk to kids? How do you see it received?
Ruby Bridges: My biggest fans are kids all across the country, outside of the country. I remember a little boy saying to me once, I was talking with him, and he says, "What you're saying doesn't make sense." He said, "For instance, it's like, my puppies. I have a puppy. His name is Spot. He's a whatever, and, um, I love my puppy. And my next door neighbor, he has a dog, and he's a Golden Retriever. He can do better tricks. He loves his puppy. The truth is, Ruby," is what he said, "they're all just dogs."
And I looked at him, I said, "You know what? You're right about that. You're absolutely right." Kids... None of our babies are born knowing anything about racism. Each and every one of our babies come into the world with a very special gift. That's a and a fresh start in life. We, as adults, we take that away.
And in the back of, on the back of the book, the slogan for my foundation is, "Racism is a grown-up . Let's stop using our kids to spread it."
We know that that's where it comes from.
Steven Colbert: Ruby, thank you so much for being here.
Thank you.
Steven Colbert: "Dear Ruby, Hear Our Hearts," is available now. Ruby Bridges, everybody. We'll be right back.