The spirit of the Kaufman Interfaith Institute is represented in the cooperative programs held in the community to enlighten, inform, and promote inclusivity.

These events bring together diverse voices and faith traditions to find a common ground while still honoring individual experiences.

Whether it is working with others in the community to host a civilized discussion about polarizing issues or organizing a celebration that welcomes all and encourages learning through differences, the institute has found great success carrying out its mission through these community collaborations.

"Through interfaith dialogue and service, we promote a vibrant and diverse community for all generations. Beyond tolerance, we value hospitality, understanding, respect, and acceptance." 

Kaufman's Weekly Interfaith Insight

In a climate of fear and hate, can we learn from a six-year-old?

How can we deal with the division and even hatred we observe in our society? Recalling an earlier time, when our society was divided to the point of hate, can be instructive.  In this case the teacher is the 6-year-old Ruby Bridges, who in 1960 was escorted by federal marshals to a white elementary school in New Orleans.  As the only black student in the all-white school, she studied alone that year with Barbara Henry, a young teacher from Boston, and the two worked together in an otherwise vacant classroom for an entire year. Every day the marshals escorted Ruby Bridges to school, and she remained in the school even when all of the other parents withdrew their children. 

Her case became known nationally in news reports and later when the artist Norman Rockwell painted the event of her attending school with federal marshal escort. The painting, titled “The Problem We All Live With,” was featured in Look magazine in 1964 and became an iconic representation of school integration efforts of that decade.

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