Students gathered at San Jose City Hall Thursday morning as part of Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day, a national commemoration of the historic Civil Rights moment.
Notre Dame High School students honored the walk Bridges made in 1960. At 6 years old, Bridges was the first African American student to desegregate her all-white New Orleans school, where she faced an angry and racist white mob.
Helena Ledeit, a student who participated in the walk, said activism is the quickest way to change.
"Students especially are so passionate about it. All around, you can be involved -- through art, through protest, even through this simple walk," Ledeit said. "I wanna see a change to the world, I wanna be a part of it and leave this place a little better than I came into it."
For Tanisha Fitzgerald, director of student leadership and mathematics teacher, she wants her students to know that they can take on brave actions like Bridges's no matter where they are in life.
"I think it's important for them to know that it doesn't matter how old they are or how young they are, the focus is this 6-year-old girl could do something brave, and so could they," Fitzgerald said.
The annual commemoration was originally started in 2017 by a group of fifth grade students in South San Francisco.
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