Civil Rights Film 'Ruby Bridges' Pulled From Florida School Amid Parent Complaint

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A Pinellas County school will no longer show a film depicting the childhood story of civil rights advocate Ruby Bridges pending a review after a parent complained the film might teach white people to hate Black people, according to multiple reports and district officials.

The Disney movie "Ruby Bridges" tells the story of a 6-year-old Black girl who was the first to integrate an all-white elementary school in New Orleans in the 1960s. According to Isabel Mascareñas, public information officer for Pinellas County Schools, the film was shown to about 60 second-grade students at North Shore Elementary School on March 2 as part of a lesson for Black History Month.

Mascareñas told Patch permission slips and a link to the movie's trailer were sent to parents two weeks before the viewing. Two families chose to not let their children watch the movie, Mascareñas said.

However, one of those parents later filed a formal complaint, claiming the movie wasn't appropriate for second-graders, according to a report by The Tampa Bay Times.

Mascareñas confirmed the objection was filed with district officials on March 6.

The parent wrote that the use of racial slurs and scenes of white people threatening Ruby could teach children that white people hate Black people, the Times reported. In response, district officials said the movie would no longer be shown at North Shore pending a committee review.

According to Mascareñas, the movie is still available for use by other Pinellas County schools.

"It was communicated with the parent that (North Shore) would not have any future showings during this school year as the movie had already been shown," Mascareñas said.

The Weekly Challenger first reported about the complaint in a column written by former St. Petersburg police chief and deputy mayor Goliath Davis.

"I was stunned to hear the news and thought it must be an idle rumor," Davis wrote. "I asked myself, what objection could there possibly be to a historical fact of courage and an attempt to obtain an equal education in America?"

Davis continued, "Black history, Native-American history and Hispanic history, though not always glamorous, are American history and cannot be denied."

The complaint follows a move made by Pinellas County school officials earlier this year to ban "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison in all classrooms and libraries after a parent complained about a two-page rape scene included in the book, according to a separate report by The Times.

The novel, published in 1970, tells the story of a Black girl growing up after the Great Depression.

The complaint drew criticism from Ric Davis, president of Concerned Organization for Quality Education for Black Students, a group that advocates for Black children in Pinellas County schools.

"Many from historically marginalized communities are asking whether this so-called integrated education system in Pinellas County can even serve the diverse community fairly and equitably," Davis wrote.