OXFORD, Miss. – Cora Norman, founding director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, will deliver the lecture named in her honor Thursday (Oct. 25) at the University of Mississippi.
The Cora Norman lecture, “Remembering the Council Through the Years: Challenges, Individuals and Accomplishments,” which is free and open to the public, is set for 4 p.m. in Barnard Observatory.The Mississippi Humanities Council was co-founded at UM and Jackson State University in 1972, and Norman was the first director. She led the council until 1994.
“We’re hosting the 40th anniversary celebration and we thought it would be appropriate to have her give the lecture,” said Andy Mullins, chief of staff to the chancellor and Mississippi Humanities Council board member.
Norman’s lecture is one of several celebrations the council is hosting across the state.
Former Mississippi Gov. William Winter has called Norman “an astute witness to Mississippi’s racial and cultural transition,” and “a significant force in that transition.”
“Mississippi in Transition: The Role of the Mississippi Humanities Council” (University of Tennessee Press, 2009), written by Norman, recounts how the council played a significant role in the growing opposition against segregation practices in Mississippi.