Though the book never identifies this Supreme Court case by name in the main narrative, it set the stage for the events of Ruby Bridges’s young life. When a public school district in Kansas refused to enroll a young African American girl, her family and others filed a class-action lawsuit against the Board of Education. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court, which unanimously ruled that public school segregation was unconstitutional because it violated the Fourteenth Amendment that ensures equal protection of laws. Segregated schools, the Court determined, were inherently unequal. This ruling forced school boards to allow any children to enroll regardless of race, hence the integration story in New Orleans.

The Civil Rights Movement as a title refers to a social and legal movement most pronounced in the 1950s and 1960s. During the movement, American society openly reckoned with its codified racist systems and mandated segregation. The movement saw an end to segregation through the efforts of lawmakers and activists. The movement is emblemized by historical figures such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Ruby Bridges. One could argue this movement continues today, as equality for all is a continuing fight in America’s social and legal systems.