OXFORD, Miss. – With the Republican Party controlling the Legislature and holding nearly all statewide offices for the first time since Reconstruction, the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics is hosting two programs dealing with partisan developments during its spring season.
The season kicks off at 11 a.m. Thursday (Feb. 16), when the founding fathers of the modern GOP in Mississippi, Clarke Reed and Wirt Yerger, join two early state party chairs, Ebbie Spivey and Mike Retzer, to discuss how their organization grew over a 50-year period from a distinct minority into a major force. The program, “Present at the Creation,” will be moderated by Overby fellow Bill Rose.
On March 7, House Democratic leader Bobby Moak and colleague Rep. Bryant Clark will appear with Brandon Presley, a Democrat who serves as public service commissioner for northern Mississippi, to discuss the difficulties of operating in a political minority. Charlie Mitchell, a syndicated political columnist and assistant dean of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi, will lead the 11 a.m. session.
“We believe we have an outstanding lineup of programs this spring that range from politics to literature and other areas,” said Curtis Wilkie, another Overby Fellow who worked with Rose to develop the schedule.
All programs are in the Overby Center Auditorium and are free and open to the public.
Other events for the spring season are:
– “RFK in the Delta, Revisited,” 1 p.m. Feb. 21 – On a day when Marian Wright Edelman, the civil rights lawyer who became president of the Children’s Defense Fund, returns to Mississippi for a campus speaking engagement, the Overby Center will feature a special program dealing with the impact of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s legendary trip to the Mississippi Delta 45 years ago. Edelman helped lead Kennedy’s tour. She will appear with Owen Brooks, a major figure in the Delta Ministry; another Delta community leader, James Figgs; newsman George Lapides, who covered the trip; and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nick Kotz, whose book, “Let Them Eat Promises,” dealt with the issue of hunger that Kennedy investigated. Ellen Meacham of the Ole Miss journalism faculty will moderate.
– “A Force in Their Community,” 10 a.m. Feb. 29 – Three Mississippi newspaper editors whose publications play an active role in their hometown affairs, Bill Jacobs of The Daily Leader in Brookhaven, Dr. Luke Lampton of The Magnolia Gazette, and Jim Prince of The Neshoba Democrat, will talk with journalism professor Deb Wenger about their efforts to serve as a constructive voice.
– “Endangered Species,” 11 a.m. March 20 – As new technology threatens the publishing industry by reducing books to a computerized screen, several independent Mid-South booksellers will discuss the situation. The Overby guests include Richard Howorth of Square Books in Oxford, John Evans of Lemuria Books in Jackson, Emily Gatlin of Gumtree Books in Tupelo, Jamie Kornegay of Turnrow Books in Greenwood and Eddie Burton of Booksellers in Memphis. Bill Rose will be moderator.
– “Public Relations Power,” 1 p.m. March 29 – Three Ole Miss alumni who have achieved prominence in the public relations field on the East Coast, Harold Burson, Leslie Westbrook and Micky Brazeale, will discuss their craft with Robin Street, a member of the Ole Miss journalism faculty who specializes in PR instruction.
– “What is History Losing?” 11 a.m. April 9 – With letter-writing declining because of email, sophisticated telephone communications and other high-tech devices, many fear that potentially important historical documents may not be preserved. Jennifer Ford, director of Special Collections and Archives at the university’s J.D. Williams Library, will lead a panel discussion on the loss of letters with history professor John Neff, English professor Jay Watson and Suzanne Marrs, an English professor at Millsaps College who edited a book of letters between Mississippi author Eudora Welty and William Maxwell, fiction editor at The New Yorker magazine.
– “The Chinese Connection,” 11 a.m. April 18 – To celebrate the state’s unique Chinese-American community, the Overby Center will host several Mississippians with Chinese backgrounds as well as students in the university’s acclaimed Chinese Flagship Language Program.
– “The Lobbyists,” 1 p.m. April 19 – Three Ole Miss graduates, John Hall, Lee Sanders and Joel Wood, who work in the nation’s capital, will talk about how they represent their clients and their private interests in day-to-day contacts with government. Bill Rose will serve as moderator.
For more information or for assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-1692. For more information on upcoming programs, visit the Overby Center.