NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) – South Florida students are participating in the annual Walk to School Day to honor Ruby Bridge’s courageous and historic act of becoming the first African-American child to attend a formerly all-white school in New Orleans.

In 1960, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges made history when she was escorted by federal marshals to Williams Frantz Elementary School amid a desegregation crisis in the South.

64 years later, Bridges’ worth is still celebrated around the world and here in South Florida, with many students consciously putting themselves in her shoes and choosing to go to school and mediate on the heroic act.

Liberty City’s Ruby Bridges Walk invited parents, students, staff and community members to march together from Holmes Elementary School to Miami Northwestern High School.

However, the purpose of Thursday’s event was two-fold, the first reason was to celebrate Bridges and the second was to host a Math Matters rally to shed light on the educational disparities that many face today.

According to Miami-Dade Schools, 60 percent of students in lower-income neighborhoods face significant challenges in math proficiency.

The Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust is working to change that by hosting the rally, which is certainly a message Ruby Bridges would support as she went on to create the Ruby Bridges Foundation that promotes diversity, respect and equal opportunity.

“None of our babies are born knowing anything about racism. Each of our babies comes into the world with a very special gift: a clean heart and a new start in life. We, as adults, take it. On the back of the book, my foundation’s slogan is: Racism is an adult disease, let’s stop using our children to spread it,” Bridges said in an interview.

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