Ruby Bridges talks at 1 p.m. 35. Annual MLK -Mindesmark – Chicago Maroon

Ruby Bridges talks during the 35th annual Martin Luther King Jr. -Minde’s power.

The University held the 35th annual Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Memorial Party in Rockefeller Chapel on January 29 with highlighted speeches Ruby Bridges, a civil rights activist who at the age of six was the first black student to attend his primary school.

The scope of the event was a fire chat with bridges moderated by lecturer in American history Rashauna Johnson. During the conversation, which lasted almost an hour and a half, Bridges told what she remembered from primary school and her activism today.

The event also included comments by University President Paul Alivisatos, third year and TIMUELY D. BLACK COMMUNITY SOLIDARITY SCHOLARSHIP receives Arsima Araya and Maurice Charles, Dean of Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. There were also musical performances of Unite votes ChicagoA nonprofit organization that provides programming of music education for youth.

In his opening markings, Alivisatos reflected on the importance of the event held in Rockefeller – the site of one of MLK’s first major speeches in Chicago in 1956.

“We gather every year not only to honor the extraordinary power of Dr. King’s vision, but also to consider the unmetable opportunities of our time and to seek inspiration in his words and example to help us meet them, ”he said.

After Alivisatos, Araya and Charles spoke, the event moved into the conversation with Bridges, who began by telling his experience on his first day at William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans.

“I remember they sang, ‘two, four, six, eight, we won’t integrate.’ And they threw things waved with the hands, there were barricades that were police officers everywhere, ”Bridges said. “I need you to understand that what protected me was a child’s innocence. A six-year-old. “

Bridges then described the insulation she felt during this school year. Many teachers had completed their jobs and parents refused to send their children to school. Bridges remembered his teacher, Barbara Henry, and the influence Henry made on her.

“This woman who taught me showed me love,” she said. “She’s my best friend. She is still alive. She lives in Boston and she is still my best friend. “

The conversation focused largely on what Bridges learned about racism from her experience as the first black student to attend her elementary school. She told the day she first came face to face with racism when a classmate at her elementary school told her she couldn’t play with him because his mother had forbidden it and repeated a racial slurry she had used.

“I looked at him, and frankly it felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Bridges said of the experience. “He did (the nature of racism) made sense, and I can honestly say today and tell you that I was not angry with him … He repeated what was told to him.” Bridges continued, “Racism is an adult disease and we must stop using our children to spread it.”

Bridges ended by talking about how losing his son to Pistoli changed his perspective on the state in the United States today. “This fight, as we are II day, has absolutely nothing to do with how we look,” she said. “The fight we are II day is good and evil, and good and evil comes in all nuances and colors.”

“Stop thinking that this has something to do with how we look. It doesn’t, ”Bridges added. “Yes, racism is alive and good, but racism is just another tool that is used to divide us, and I believe with where we are today, we will find out soon.”