The Greenwood Elementary School principal, Dr. Nicole Dickens-Simon, says she has always wanted to have images that represent the school’s students on display throughout the school building. Many of Greenwood’s students are people of color.
“Be it artwork that the students have created, artwork that teachers or staff have created — morale boosting, energetic images, so our students are inundated with reminders of our core values and our school rules to be kind and respectful,” Simon says.
Last year, district art supervisor Danielle Tan and Greenwood climate and culture specialist Aysha Ahmad informed Simon that Greenwood had been awarded a grant for the creation of artwork on campus. Simon knew that she wanted to use the grant to create a mural that was meaningful to the students.
“Something that they would understand, that would resonate with them,” she says.
John Malloy, a fourth grade social studies teacher at Greenwood, was the first to suggest Ruby Bridges as the subject of a mural. Bridges, now 69, is known as the first African-American student to attend the formerly Whites-only William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans in 1960.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public school segregation was unconstitutional in its landmark 1954 ruling in the Brown v. Board of Education case. Despite the ruling, many Southern states were slow to integrate. The ruling gave districts six years to make changes, and many, including those in Louisiana, maintained policies of segregation as long as possible.
In 1960, Bridges was the only Black student to attend William Frantz Elementary School for an entire school year. She was escorted to and from school by U.S. marshals. In the ensuing years, more Black students joined her at Frantz and other schools, slowly but surely bringing to an end the era of segregated public schools in New Orleans.
Malloy regularly includes Bridges’ story in his fourth grade social studies curriculum. “They watch movies and read books about her,” Simon said. “It’s something that’s been perpetuated throughout our fourth and fifth grade. Ruby Bridges is very much alive and vibrant, and he has students write letters to Ruby Bridges annually inviting her to come to Greenwood.”
Greenwood Elementary School art teacher Christian Cannizzaro, along with Greenwood clerical assistant Patricia Bumbera, were the lead artists on the three-part mural, which came together during the 2021-22 school year.
They did not do it alone. Students from the Nottingham High School Future Educators club — advised by guidance counselor Carina Foushee — also worked on the mural.
“Most of the students who came over from Nottingham were Greenwood alums, so that was delightful to have them back on campus,” Simon said. “And now we have this beautiful representation of tenacity and perseverance and love and peace and education in our cafeteria that hopefully will be there for years to come.”
Many people, including students and staff, had input into the mural’s design. “Mr. Cannizzaro, our art teacher, was very excited about supporting the effort. And Patricia Bumbera — formally, she’s a clerical assistant in the main office, but she is a certified art teacher with amazing skills and a creative mind — very enthusiastic about all things Greenwood.”
Mural installation was completed last month. But the artworks were unveiled for the first time on June 19, or Juneteenth, now a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S.
For a school where students come from many different backgrounds and speak a variety of languages at home, seeing a person of color honored in the school for her courage is inspirational, Simon said.
“One hundred percent, the children see themselves reflected in a positive way and they’re inspired to be bold and be great and lend their voices to society,” she said.
Aysha Ahmad is the climate and cultural specialist at Greenwood Elementary School. Climate and culture specialists are deployed in Hamilton in schools where it has been determined that there is a need for the school to create a positive learning environment and a culture of high expectations.
Specialists like Ahmad work with teachers and staff to implement programs designed to ensure that the school is safe and supports learning. The mural is one example of this process in action.
“I think of myself as the person who goes around throwing glitter everywhere,” Ahmad said. “Because of Robyn Ivanisik (Ahmad’s predecessor in the role), because of Dr. Simon we have had zero bullying incidents last five years. “Our utmost priority is the social-emotional learning of these students, and we are focused on our core values — trustworthiness, responsibility — that we want our students to have. These are the leaders of our future, and we need to build their character.”
Ahmad said that things like the Ruby Bridges mural inspire students to fulfill those core values.
“It’s inspirational for them to see that and to read books about people like Ruby Bridges,” she said. “On the day that the mural was finished, I actually was on lunch duty that day, and right when it went up, I could hear the conversations in the room. The students, they were like, ‘Who is that? Tell me more about that.’ Because, you know, kids constantly need to revisit topics and be reminded of what they have learned.
“It was a great moment for me as an educator to see that and to be able to be a part of it.”
Simon said she expects that the Ruby Bridges will be just the beginning for Greenwood and its efforts to beautify the campus with uplifting works of art.
“We hope to have another mural done in our main hall. We are always seeking opportunities to represent our children in a positive way,” she said. “We do believe its going to be something school-spirit based — something based on our core values, our school mascot maybe. Something a little more Greenwoodesque.”
One panel of the Greenwood Elementary School Ruby Bridges mural at the unveiling held on June 19, 2023. (Photo by Laura Geltch.),
