Pepperdine College Freedom Forum Collection

The Pepperdine College Freedom Forum was an annual, three-day seminar designed to promote American values as a defense against communism, held in Los Angeles between 1959 and 1971. The model for the Freedom Forum grew out of the National Education Program developed by George S. Benson, President of Harding College. At Pepperdine, President M. Norvel Young carried the idea forward, where it was sometimes referred to as the California Freedom Forum. The Freedom Forum was part of a larger constellation of anti-communist activities at Pepperdine College, which included a weekly Speaker’s Bureau, an anti-communist film series, and various citizen education and teacher training programs. This digital collection includes a selection of material available in the Pepperdine College Freedom Forum Records housed in our archive, including program booklets, typed speeches, photographs, newspaper clippings, and interviews. Additional Freedom Forum photographs appear in the  Pepperdine University Archives Photograph Collection.