Doors open at 11 a.m. No bags, purses, or backpacks.
The use of any recording devices during the event, including but not limited to, cell phones, video cameras, or digital recorders is not permitted during Ms. Bridges’ speaking engagement.
Event Photo Gallery
Location
Kathleen and Tom Elam Center
15 Mt. Pelia Rd.
Martin, TN 38238
Registration
Registration is required. Click here to register.
About Ruby Bridges
Ruby Bridges is a civil rights icon, activist, author, and speaker who at the age of six was the first Black student to integrate an all-white elementary school alone in Louisiana. She was born in Mississippi in 1954, the same year the United States Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education which ordered the integration of public schools. Her family later moved to New Orleans, where on November 14, 1960, Bridges began attending William Frantz Elementary School, single-handedly initiating the desegregation of public education. Her walk to the front door of the school was immortalized in Norman Rockwell’s painting The Problem We All Live With, in Robert Coles’ book The Story of Ruby Bridges, and in the Disney movie Ruby Bridges.
She established the Ruby Bridges Foundation to provide leadership training programs that inspire youth and community leaders to embrace and value the richness of diversity. Bridges is the recipient of numerous awards, including the NAACP Martin Luther King Award, the Presidential Citizens Medal, and honorary doctorate degrees from Connecticut College, College of New Rochelle, Columbia University Teachers College, and Tulane University. Bridges is also the author of Through My Eyes, This Is Your Time, I Am Ruby Bridges, and Dear Ruby, Hear Our Hearts, released in January 2024. In March 2024, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
About
The University of Tennessee at Martin established The Henry H. Parker Speaker Series in 2023 to honor the dedicated work of esteemed scholar Dr. Henry H. Parker. For more than 67 years, Dr. Parker has impacted the lives of countless college students and colleagues as a professor of history at numerous institutions. During his 33-year tenure at The University of Tennessee at Martin, Dr. Parker mentored students and developed insightful courses and programs to enrich students’ educational experiences. We are honored to recognize and celebrate a consummate educator and social justice advocate, Dr. Henry H. Parker.
Dr. Henry H. Parker
Dr. Henry H. Parker has an impressive and diverse background. He graduated with honors from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, and went on to earn his M.A. from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and a Ph.D. in Latin and Greek from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.
Dr. Parker played a pivotal role in promoting desegregation, notably in the dining car department of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company and in various bars and restaurants in Spokane, WA. He was not only an advocate but also a creator, producing and starring in "The Hank Parker Show," Iowa's first black television series, which aired on the NBC affiliate KWWL.
He was a true educator, having founded the widely recognized Parker Tribune newspaper, used in 300 schools across the United States. Dr. Parker also served as the National Director of Curriculum for Jesse Jackson's PUSH-Excel program and established the highly regarded Parker Academy, a college preparatory program for preschoolers.
Together with Marilyn Crist, he developed the C.P. Collegians Program, designed to nurture gifted children. Dr. Parker co-authored several books, including "Teaching Minorities to Play the Corporate Language Game," "A Twenty-Somethings Guide to Financial Freedom," and "Secrets to Success in College and in Life," which were published both in the United States and abroad.
His influence extended to the national stage, as he was a featured speaker on the lecture circuit for the New York-based agency, Program Corporation of America. Dr. Parker's remarkable journey even caught the attention of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and his work has been featured in prestigious publications such as The New York Times, USA Today, and People magazine.
Throughout his career, Dr. Parker received recognition as a Ford Foundation Fellow and held the esteemed title of Cunningham Distinguished Professor/Scholar at the University of Tennessee at Martin. After an impressive 33 years of service in the history department, he retired from UT Martin in May 2023, leaving behind a lasting legacy.
