First ladies conference set at LBJ library

DALLAS (AP) — Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush Hager along with Steve Ford and Lynda Johnson Robb are set talk about life in the White House at a conference on first ladies that will be held Thursday at the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in Austin.

The daylong conference is part of a series of presentations on first ladies presented by American University and the White House Historical Association that have been hosted by presidential libraries over the last two years.

"The Enduring Legacies of America's First Ladies" also will feature former first ladies Laura Bush and Barbara Bush, former White House staff members and historians.

Anita McBride, Laura Bush's chief of staff in the White House, says the series is a way to take a closer look at the role of the first lady. McBride, who is chairing the conferences, now teaches at American University. Previous conferences have been hosted by the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas and the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station.

"It's a unique position, and we're trying to unlock some of the mystery," McBride said. "We really do hope to shine a light on the work they've done and how important it is."

McBride said that this conference marks the first one featuring the children of presidents and first ladies.

"They will bring a different perspective," McBride said, adding that she expects them to talk about their lives in the White House and after.

McBride said the next conference on first ladies will be at the Gerald R. Ford Library in Michigan in the spring and that they're hoping to bring the conference to other libraries after that as well.

In addition to the discussion with the first children and another with the former first ladies, the conference will host discussions on first ladies throughout history, a presentation by photographer David Hume Kennerly of iconic images of first ladies.