Lucille Bridges: Last News

Rance Allen (1948–2020), gospel music legendCarol Arthur (1935–2020), ‘Blazing Saddles’ actorBert Belasco (1982–2020), star of BET’s ‘Let’s Stay Together’Abby Dalton (1932–2020), ‘Falcon Crest’ starLen Barry (1942–2020), Dovells lead singerDoug Supernaw (1960–2020), sang country hit ‘I Don’t Call Him Daddy’Hal Ketchum (1953–2020), ‘Small Town Saturday Night’ singerBen Watkins (2020), ‘MasterChef Junior’ starDena Dietrich (1928–2020), played Mother Nature in Chiffon Margarine commercialsDavid Maas (1963–2020), performer in ‘Quick Change’ magic actJim Pace (1961–2020), racing driver who won Daytona and SebringTom Heinsohn (1934–2020), Boston Celtics legendNorm Crosby (1927–2020), legendary old school comicFrank Macon (1923–2020), Tuskegee

Lucille Bridges was the mother of Ruby Bridges, who made history in 1960 when she began attending an all-white school in New Orleans.Civil Rights trailblazerBridges, who had to leave school after eighth grade to help her sharecropper parents, was determined that her own children would get good educations. So she moved her family from Mississippi to New Orleans, and when an opportunity arose for Black children to test for entry into the city’s all-white schools — five years after school segregation had been federally outlawed — Bridges jumped at the chance to have kindergartener Ruby take the test.