The Chucky Mullins statue stands in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi Department of Athletics and the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation have announced a slate of activities for the 2014 Racial Reconciliation Week, which runs Monday through Saturday (Sept. 22-27).
Racial Reconciliation Week began in 2013 with a week of events dedicated to promoting racial equity and encouraging dialogue on the topic.
Highlights from the week include the first on-campus screening of the “SEC Storied: It’s Time – Chucky Mullins, ” which details the story of former Ole Miss football player Chucky Mullins, and a campus panel discussion of race and pop culture. Additionally, the Winter Institute will celebrate its 15th anniversary.
The week kicks off Monday with a showing of the movie “Come Hell or High Water: The Battle of Turkey Creek” at 6 p.m. at Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics auditorium. The movie documents the painful but inspiring journey of Derrick Evans, a Boston teacher who moves home to coastal Mississippi when the graves of his ancestors are bulldozed to make way for the sprawling city of Gulfport. Over the course of a decade, Evans and his neighbors stand up to powerful corporate interests and politicians, and face Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill in their struggle for self-determination and environmental justice.
Several dedications are planned throughout the week, including the Chucky Mullins Drive dedication on Friday. The university is renaming Coliseum Drive as Chucky Mullins Drive in memory of the late Ole Miss football player. The dedication will take place on the School of Law courtyard at 2:30 p.m. All 25 winners of the Chucky Mullins Courage Award have been invited to attend.
“Partnering with the Winter Institute for a week of reconciliation is an honor and privilege for Ole Miss athletics,” Athletics Director Ross Bjork said. “Our commitment to giving back to the community through our core values stands strong each day, and events like this further strengthen our purpose.
“This year has special meaning as we honor the legacy and spirit of Roy Lee ‘Chucky’ Mullins and all that he has contributed to the university and athletics. We are humbled to be a small part of the never-ending crusade of respect and dignity for all humankind.”
The Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement also will have a dedication on Wednesday, and the M-Club Hall of Fame will induct six new members on Friday.
Jennifer Saxon, assistant athletics director for student-athlete development who has played a huge role in helping spearhead the second annual slate of Racial Reconciliation Week events, said she is pleased with the ability to engage in positive conversation regarding the issue of race.
“I am thrilled that for a second year we can continue this week of impactful activities that showcases our relationship with the William Winter Institute,” Saxon said. “The institute’s work, not only locally, but nationally, speaks volumes about the progress we have made as we continue to educate in an effort to heal. We were able to create programming opportunities for the campus and Oxford community that highlight campus resources while engaging positive conversation.”
The observance culminates with the Ole Miss vs. Memphis football game on Saturday. During the game, both Racial Reconciliation Week and the Winter Institute will be recognized on the field, and the Nathaniel Northington Groundbreaker in Athletics Award will be presented to former Ole Miss head football coach Billy Brewer and former Vanderbilt football player Brad Gaines.
Northington, who participated in the inaugural Racial Reconciliation Week in 2013, was the first African-American football player in the SEC. Northington broke the “color barrier” by becoming the first African-American to play any sport in the SEC when Kentucky played Ole Miss in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1967.The author of “Still Running,” Northington received the inaugural Groundbreaker in Athletics award.
“I cannot express what a great symbiosis is being created between athletics and the Winter Institute,” said Susan Glisson, executive director of the institute. “We’re already doing so much good work together, both on campus and off, and we’ve only just begun.
“Ross Bjork had a great idea to launch Racial Reconciliation Week last year and it lifts up our partnership to a level that folks can see. I’m thankful that we’re having a second Racial Reconciliation Week this year and I look forward to many more, symbolizing a long and fruitful partnership. ”
The university’s Winter Institute works in communities and classrooms, in Mississippi and beyond, to support a movement of racial equity and wholeness as a pathway to ending and transcending all discrimination based on difference.
The week’s full schedule includes:
Monday, Sept. 22
- Movie: “Come Hell or High Water: The Battle of Turkey Creek”
- Location: Overby Center Auditorium
- Time: 6 p.m.
- Moderator: Reilly Morse, president and CEO, Mississippi Center for Justice
Tuesday, Sept. 23
- Campus Panel Discussion: Race and Pop Culture
- Location: Overby Center Auditorium
- Time: 6 p.m.
- Moderator: Melody Frierson, youth engagement coordinator, William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation
Wednesday, Sept. 24
- Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement Dedication & Reception
- Location: Stewart Hall (Center)
- Time: 2 p.m.
- Integrated Community Service (Optional)
- Location: Paris-Yates Chapel
- Time: 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 25
- Redefining the Welcome Table: Inclusion and Exclusion in American Foodways
Southern Foodways Alliance and William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation
2014 Graduate Student Conference
- Location: The Depot
- Time: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
- “SEC Storied: It’s Time – Chucky Mullins”
- Location: Weems Auditorium, School of Law
- Time: 6 p.m.
- Moderators:
- Deano Orr, Ole Miss linebacker (1990-1993) and executive director of IP Foundation
- Micah Ginn, associate athletics director for sports production and creative services, Ole Miss Department of Athletics
Friday, Sept. 26
- Redefining the Welcome Table: Inclusion and Exclusion in American Foodways
Southern Foodways Alliance and William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation
2014 Graduate Student Conference
- Location: The Depot
- Time: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Chucky Mullins Drive Dedication
- Time: 2:30 p.m.
- Location: School of Law courtyard
- Winter Institute 15th Anniversary Celebration & Open House
- Time 4 p.m.
- Location: Lamar Hall, Third Floor, Suite A
- M-Club Hall of Fame Induction Reservations Required
- The Inn at Ole Miss, Gertrude C. Ford Ballroom
- Time: 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 27
- Ole Miss vs. Memphis Football Game
- Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
- Time: 6:30 p.m.
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Media Contact:
Jessica Poole
662-816-3877