Civil rights icon Ruby Bridges to join Spartanburg MLK event |

SPARTANBURG — As part of a week of activities to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day that’s underway, residents can hear from one of the best-known figures of the Civil Rights Era.

Ruby Bridges will speak during the community celebration at 3 p.m. Jan. 19 at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium.

Bridges was the first Black student to integrate an all-White elementary school in Louisiana in November 1960. A well-circulated photo captured the moment, which Norman Rockwell also recorded in his famous 1964 painting, “The Problem We All Live With.”

Her involvement with civil Rights didn’t stop in 1960. Bridges later established the Ruby Bridges Foundation, which aims to help younger generations on their way to a better and more peaceful future.

Spartanburg spokesperson Christopher George said Bridges’ planned appearance is thanks to Deputy City Manager Mitch Kennedy.

“(Kennedy) had some potential contacts there and reached out to her folks, and she was available, and we were able to secure her for it,” George said. “Really got to give Mitch credit on that one.”

While that might be the main event, the city’s 38th annual MLK Unity Week also includes a unity walk and day of service.

Here is the full list of upcoming events:

• Jan. 17: Kindness Day, which encourages an extra effort to be kind
• Jan. 18: Walk as One starting at 9 a.m. at the Cleveland Park Event Center
• Jan: 19: Community Celebration at 3 p.m. at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium
• Jan. 20: United Way Day of Service starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Dr. T.K. Gregg Community Center with a community breakfast

Spartanburg celebrated MLK Day well before South Carolina recognized it as a state holiday in 2000, the last to do so in the nation.

George said the now almost weeklong celebration started in the city as a “simple gathering around a flag pole” and has grown because of work with community partners.

“We have a very long tradition of recognizing the day,” he said. “It’s grown into this really big community event that folks look forward to every year.”

He added that the mission continues as the city is committed to seeing a more equitable and just Spartanburg. The day before the community celebration is the annual walk starting at Cleveland Park, which unites residents from all backgrounds for a roughly 2-mile walk.

On Jan. 20, when many don’t work thanks to its designation as a holiday, residents are encouraged to volunteer their time for public service. For more information, visit uwpiedmont.org/mlkday.

During the Jan. 13 City Council meeting, Mayor Jerome Rice encouraged residents to join the day of service.

“It’s a national holiday but here in Spartanburg, it’s a day on, not a day off,” Rice said.