Southern Register Spring 2004 Page 3 Where We Stand: Southern Voices of Dissent Coming from Newsouth Books July 2004
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
the THESouthern NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF SOUTHERN CULTURE •SRegisterPRING 2004 g THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI Mildred D. Taylor Day Celebration ildred D. Taylor Day in Mississippi, where she was born, and fol- an aunt upon whom she based her char- Mississippi, celebrated April low a single African American family as acters were actually present for the cere- 2 in conjunction with the they struggle through life in the years mony. Also, many of Taylor’s family 2004 Oxford Conference for before the civil rights movement. members took part in the ceremony; her Mthe Book, proved to be a great Although Taylor’s late father moved her cousins read letters written to her by her success for all involved—from school- family to Toledo, Ohio, soon after she grandmother, and Taylor’s daughter children to conference participants to was born, and although Taylor was edu- spoke about the writer’s name. the award-winning novelist herself. cated at the University of Toledo and Also taking part in the ceremony “This is overwhelming and something the University of Colorado, she held on were Oxford mayor and Square Books that I never thought would happen,” tightly to the stories of life in Mississippi, owner Richard Howorth, University said Taylor, who in a special ceremony at where she visited regularly as a child. the University’s Ford Center for the Many of Taylor’s paternal uncles and (continued on page 33) Performing Arts accepted a proclama- Kevin Bain/University of Mississippi tion signed by Governor Haley Barbour declaring April 2 Mildred D. Taylor Day across the state. “When I received the letter from Ann Abadie saying I would be honored by the state of Mississippi if I would come here, I was totally stunned and everybody to whom I read that let- ter was totally stunned.” Taylor—who won the 1977 Newbery Award for Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry as well as several other prestigious awards for her work–credited her family with her success as a storyteller and recognized them at the Ford Center ceremony. “This is just unbelievable and one of the greatest honors I’ve ever received as a writer,” Taylor said. “It’s a great honor to my family, too—I can’t accept any honors concerning my books with- Mildred D. Taylor (center), Jackson native and author of the Newbery Award-winning out also giving honor to my family, children’s novel Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, accepted a framed proclamation by because I wouldn’t have written the Governor Haley Barbour declaring April 2, 2004, Mildred D. Taylor Day in Mississippi. books if it were not for the family who With Taylor are (left to right) Sharman Bridges Smith, executive director of the Mississippi Library Commission; Ethel Young-Minor, University of Mississippi assistant professor of passed the stories on.” English and African American Studies; Jason Dean, policy advisor for Governor Barbour; Taylor’s nine novels are set in Richard Howorth, Oxford mayor; and Robert Khayat, University chancellor. Southern Register D IRECTOR’ S C OLUMN Graduation day puts an annual exclamation mark on the acade- Published Quarterly by The Center for the Study of Southern Culture mic work of the Center. Southern Studies hosted a brunch for our graduates and their The University of Mississippi families on May 8, and it was a joyous occasion. We host many high-profile confer- Telephone: 662-915-5993 ences and publish acclaimed books, but graduation reminded me of how central our Fax: 662-915-5814 curriculum is to defining the Center. E-mail: [email protected] The everyday work of lectures, class discussions, examinations, and research Internet: http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/south papers about Southern culture prepares our students to make a profound impact through jobs that enable them to study, preserve, interpret, and teach about the IN THIS ISSUE Spring 2004 American South—which is the overall mission of the Center itself. The Center’s core faculty are simply superb in working with students. Their research has led to 1 Mildred D. Taylor Day Celebration award-winning monographs and significant scholarly articles establishing them as 2 Director’s Column leaders in their disciplines and collectively making for interdisciplinary perspec- 3 Lamar Society Reunion and American tives for our students to absorb. South, Then and Now Symposium The undergraduate program began early in the Center’s history as the result of a 4 Where We Stand Coming in July National Endowment for the Humanities grant that enabled planning for a bache- 5 “Unsettling Memories” Symposium lor’s degree in Southern Studies, and we are still the place to come to for that pedi- 5 Matthew Holden Jr. Visits Campus gree. We added the master’s program in 1987, and it has now grown to around 20 5 Walter Anderson Symposium students. In the last few years students have come with undergraduate degrees from 6 2004 F&Y: “Material Culture” such universities as the University of Virginia, Duke University, the University of 7 2005 F&Y: “Faulkner’s Inheritance” North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of South Carolina and from 7 History Symposium to Study Manners such smaller liberal arts institutions as Bowdoin, Kenyon, Furman, the University 7 2004 Tennessee Williams Festival of the South, and Millsaps. 8 Molpus Reflects on Civil Rights Our students go on for further graduate work, earning doctorates at Emory, the 9 SST Assistantship in Brookhaven University of Texas, Brown, Ohio State, Auburn, and the universities of Florida, 9 Gammill Gallery Exhibition Schedule Georgia, and North Carolina. They are now professors at Vanderbilt, Illinois State, 10 Living Blues Symposium and Issue and Smith College. 11 B. B. King Is Honorary SST Professor Other graduates are shaping Southern cultural development, working at museums, 12 Mississippi Encyclopedia News arts alliances, research centers, and folklore programs. Several Southern Studies 12 CrossRoads: A Southern Culture Annual alumni have been leaders in state humanities councils and state archives. Others 13 Reading the South: Reviews & Notes work in media, including at CNN and for Southern Living magazine. Thanks to donors, the Center gives awards, with a cash stipend, to honor student 21 Southern Foodways Alliance News research papers. The Gray-Coterie Awards honor undergraduate papers, and this 24 2004 Oxford Conference for the Book year’s winners are Amanda Brown, for her paper on the old burying ground in 28 Thacker Mountain Radio Savannah, Georgia, and Summer Hill, for her paper on Taylor Grocery in Taylor, 29 New Ventress Order Member Mississippi. 30 The U.S. South in Global Contexts The Lucille and Motee Daniels Award goes to the best Southern Studies graduate 32 In Memoriam paper, and this year’s winner is Richie Caldwell for “‘An Ambassador from a New 32 Center Reception in Natchez Mississippi’: A Proposal for Scholarship at the Center for the Study of Southern 33 Regional Roundup Culture,” which makes the case for the significance of writer Willie Morris’s work. 34 Notes on Contributors The newest Center honor, the Peter Aschoff Award, goes to the best paper on music 35 Southern Culture Catalog Items in the South, and Rob Hawkins won for “Living the Gospel Blues: Religion and 36 Address Section/Mailing List Respectability in the Music of Thomas Andrew Dorsey, Reverend Gary David, and Form/Friends Information and Form Blind Willie Johnson.” The judge of the competition notes that Hawkins’s paper “is REGISTER STAFF an original and powerfully argued piece of blues scholarship.” We congratulate these award winners and all the students in Southern Studies. Editor: Ann J. Abadie They represent the next generation of leaders in Southern cultural development, and Graphic Designer: Susan Bauer Lee they are one of the Center’s great contributions. Mailing List Manager: Mary Hartwell Howorth Lithographer: RR Donnelley Magazine Group CHARLES REAGAN WILSON The University complies with all applicable laws regarding affirmative action and equal opportunity in all its activities and programs and does not discriminate against anyone protected by law because of age, color,disability, national origin, race, religion, sex, or status as a veteran or disabled veteran. Page 2 Spring 2004 The Southern Register Lamar Society Reunion Highlights Fall Symposium The Center launches a new initia- Civil Rights Movement in the South, and tive with a fall symposium, The Constance Curry, author of Silver Rights American South, Then and Now: From and producer of the recent film the L. Q. C. Lamar Society to the Intolerable Burden, will be among the Endowment for the Future of the participants in that session. South, November 18-21, 2004, on the The symposium will promote biparti- University of Mississippi campus. san discussion of the political context The symposium will examine public for developing social capital in the policy issues in the South and explore South, and one panel, “Democrats and how understanding Southern culture Republicans,” will feature Republican can help illuminate discussions of such Senator Thad Cochran and Mississippi issues. The Southern context continues State Legislator Steve Holland, along to shape responses to such issues as with Ferrel Guillory, director of the racial reconciliation, rural poverty, per- Program on Southern Politics, Media, petuation of the South’s literary and and Public Life at the University of musical heritage, and advancement of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Other environmental stewardship—all of panel topics include “Economic which participants will discuss at the Development and Southern symposium. Communities,” “The Urban South,” The beginning point for the meeting “Southern Culture Today,” and is a reunion of members of the L. Q. C. Brandt Ayers “Religion and Public Policy.” Lamar Society, a 1970s-era organization Among the participants in the of Southern writers, journalists, politi- American South, Then and Now cians, business people, and other opin- Symposium will be Hodding Carter, ion makers who sought to lead the South director of the Knight Foundation; for- in positive directions as racial segrega- mer Mississippi Governor Ronnie tion ended and the region’s economic Musgrove; Charles Overby, chairman development escalated.