A talk by civil rights icon Ruby Bridges will highlight a busy November for the new African American Museum of Southern Arizona.
Henry Brean The African American Museum of Southern Arizona will make the jump from the web to the real world next month, with its first physical exhibits and a guest speaker so iconic that Norman Rockwell once painted her.
The exhibits will be housed in room 244 of the Student Union, next door to the USS Arizona memorial museum. Organizers originally hoped to open in the Student Union in the spring, but Elliott said work on the space was delayed by supply-chain problems and lingering complications from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The image inspired Rockwell to paint “The Problem We All Live With,” which depicts Bridges walking tall past a wall stained with racist graffiti and smashed tomatoes. Elliott said the event on Nov. 14 — the 62nd anniversary of Bridges’ famous first day of class — will include history lessons, inter-generational conversations and a ceremonial walk around campus.