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Civil rights activist and bestselling author Ruby Bridges will be the keynote speaker for Syracuse University’s annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, SU announced Monday. 

Bridges was one of the first Black students to attend an all-white elementary school in the South. She and the federal marshals that escorted her past angry mobs to class became part of the famous Norman Rockwell painting, “The Problem We All Live With.” 

SU will hold this year’s MLK Celebration remotely due to COVID-19 health guidelines restricting large gatherings. The virtual event series will begin Monday with the MLK Day of Service and will conclude Jan. 31 with Bridges’ keynote address, student performances and award presentations. 

Since desegregating her elementary school, Bridges has written multiple books and founded the Ruby Bridges Foundation, which promotes tolerance and respect. 

“Over 60 years ago, she displayed groundbreaking courage and life-changing compassion, and today she continues to embody a daring faith that is so dearly needed in our time and beyond,” said Rev. Brain Konkol, dean of Hendricks Chapel and one of the celebration’s organizers, in an SU News release. “We are fortunate to host her.” 

Rev. Raphael Warnock, a senior pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where King served as co-pastor from 1960 until his assassination in 1968, was the celebration’s keynote speaker last year. Last week, Warnock became Georgia’s first Black senator. 

Published on January 12, 2021 at 11:38 am

Contact Hannah: hngonzal@syr.edu