'It is all of our shared history': Ruby Bridges takes over Selena Gomez's Instagram, sharing rare footage of the day she integrated an all-white elementary school in 1960
- Ruby Bridges became the first Black student to integrate an all-white school in the South in 1960.
- Bridges took over Selena Gomez's Instagram account on Sunday to share rare historic footage of the day she integrated the New Orleans elementary school.
- The film shows 6-year-old Bridges being ushered into the school, guarded by US Marshals as furious parents and community members boycotted outside the building.
- Bridges spoke in a separate video on Instagram, saying: "I want you to remember that it is all of our shared history."
Ruby Bridges, the first Black student to integrate an all-white school in the South, became a civil rights figure at age 6.
On Sunday, Bridges shared a moving message related to race and equality during a takeover of Selena Gomez's Instagram account, which has nearly 180 million followers.
Bridges first introduced a series of clips from a documentary that showed her first day of 1st grade at William Frantz Elementary in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1960.
"I want you to remember that it is all of our shared history. This is your legacy too," Bridges said.
She then shared an excerpt from the documentary "The Children Were Watching," which was produced by Drew Associates and is now available on Gomez's Instagram account.
The film shows 6-year-old Bridges the moment she was escorted into the elementary school by US Marshals, who shielded her from a crowd of rioters.
The film also highlights the divided community — from families who were against integrated classrooms, to a handful of parents who sent their non-Black kids to school in support of the desegregation.
In her post, Bridges wrote that the footage shown on Instagram "hasn't been seen before now."
"It will show the courage that our Black & Brown Families had during the Civil Rights Movement of 1960," Bridges wrote of the film. "I also wanted to highlight a story that's connected to my story."
Bridges continued: "I felt like it was important to show our Brown brothers and sisters that they were also involved in the Civil Rights Movement, especially that day when I entered the school."
Bridges has her own Instagram account. She's the author of two books, "Through My Eyes" and "Ruby Bridges Goes To School: My True Story."
A handful of non-Black celebrities, including Gomez, have been virtually "sharing the mic" with leaders, activists, artists, and other figures of color by sharing their social media platforms and followings in response to protests and conversations surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement and police brutality.