Pepperdine Bible Lectures Presents An Evening with Ruby Bridges
Historic figure and iconic civil rights activist Ruby Bridges will discuss how a steadfast commitment to her faith in times of hatred, injustice,
and loss enabled her to love and forgive those who hated her very existence at the
2016 Pepperdine Bible Lectures[BROKEN LINK]. The talk, “An Evening with Ruby Bridges,” will take place at Firestone Fieldhouse
on the Malibu campus on Wednesday, May 4, at 8:45 PM.
Bridges was born in 1954, the same year that the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision mandated racial integration in public schools. At the height of the Civil Rights movement, Bridges became the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South. In response, the parents of all of her classmates withdrew their children from the school in an effort to avoid contact with an African American child. Each morning, armed U.S. marshals escorted Bridges through angry mobs in opposition of the desegregation ruling. Bridges was subsequently educated alone by Barbara Henry, a teacher from Boston, Massachusetts, whom she still describes as her best friend.
In the midst of racial hatred, Bridges continually prayed for those who threatened to harm her and her family, thus practicing lessons of love and forgiveness she had learned in church.
The role Bridges played in American history has been portrayed on numerous occasions within the realm of popular culture, most notably as the subject of the Norman Rockwell painting “The Problem We All Live With.” Her story was also told in the 1998 Disney movie Ruby Bridges: A Real American Hero, as well as in the Robert Coles and George Fund children’s book The Story of Ruby Bridges.
Through the years, Bridges has experienced several losses—including her home in New Orleans during the flood that followed Hurricane Katrina. Yet she remains a passionate advocate for the Christian love that moves beyond skin color.
The use of any recording devices, including cell phones, video cameras, or digital recorders, are strictly forbidden during this engagement. Registration and accommodation rates vary, and tickets are required to attend. For additional information about this event, and to purchase tickets, visit the Pepperdine Bible Lectures page on the Eventbrite website.