International Rhoda G. Sarnat Award
Chris “Ludacris” Bridges
Chris “Ludacris” Bridges was born in Champaign, Illinois, with a solid foundation – musically, intellectually, and spiritually. Influenced by his parents’ love of music, Chris began to appreciate all genres of music. He wrote his first rhyme when he was 9 years old and has been honing his musical skills ever since. As a young teen, Bridges moved to Atlanta, Georgia where the southern music scene made a huge impact that helped shape his sound.
Ludacris’ musical influences also included LL Cool J, Run DMC, and Redman. As a teenager, he began to rap competitively. After finishing high school, he enrolled in Georgia State University as a Music Management major to learn the legal and financial aspects of the business. While attending college, he began an internship at one of Atlanta’s hip-hop radio stations. Soon after, he began rapping on promotions for the station while holding down the No. 1 spot on evening radio.
Ludacris began his acting career in music videos in the early 2000s, before appearing in “The Wash” (2001) and the successful “Fast & Furious” franchise with “2 Fast 2 Furious” (2003). Other film appearances included “Crash” (2004) and “Hustle & Flow” (2005). Among his more recent film roles is “Dashing Through the Snow” (2023), a holiday film available on Disney+. He played as a divorced social worker who, while spending time with his daughter on Christmas eve, encounters a mysterious man in a red suit. While the film has a lighthearted tone, it offered more than 450 million subscribers a glimpse into the meaningful and often challenging work that social workers do.
Ludacris’ character, Eddie Garrick, highlights the critical role social workers play as first responders — helping individuals who may be considering suicide access the care and support they need. He also showed how social workers provide crisis intervention in dire situations.
When the National Association of Social Workers reached out to Ludacris to ask him to send a Social Work message to members of the profession, he generously donated his time without hesitation or compensation.He called social workers superheroes who often don’t get the recognition they deserve.
At the heart of Ludacris’ values is his commitment to the community. The Ludacris Foundation, based in Atlanta, is a nonprofit organization that serves as Ludacris’ vision to use music and the arts to connect with urban youth. Both have received numerous awards and accolades from individuals and organizations for supporting communities nationwide. Since its establishment, the foundation has provided over 30 grants to grassroots, non-profit organizations and has positively impacted thousands of lives with their generosity.
Thus far, Ludacris, who is presently on tour, has a lifetime of achievements. His musical genius has helped him create a lucrative music empire. He is a successful businessman, an established actor, rap culture icon, and role model. From his southern roots and the bright lights of Southern California to the ticker tape of Wall Street — and now, dual citizenship in the U.S. and Gabon, his wife’s home country — Chris “Ludacris” Bridges has only just begun.