UM athletics officials Keith Carter (left) and Yolette McPhee-McCuin open the fall programming for the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics with a discussion of 50 years of Title IX.
OXFORD, Miss. – The Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics has a thought-provoking lineup of events for the University of Mississippi‘s fall semester.
From critical discussions about current events and the climate inside modern newsrooms to celebrating key milestones such as the 50th anniversary of Title IX and the 60th anniversary of Ole Miss’ integration, the slate touches collectively on some of the pressing issues facing the region and beyond.
The schedule opens Tuesday (Sept. 13) with a celebratory discussion of the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the landmark legislation that helped equalize the college experience for women, especially in collegiate athletics.
The panel will include Keith Carter, vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics, and Yolette “Coach Yo” McPhee-McCuin, Ole Miss women’s basketball coach. Legendary Mississippi sportswriter Rick Cleveland will moderate the session.
Later this month, as the entire UM campus celebrates the 60th anniversary of James Meredith’s 1962 integration of the school, the Overby Center will host a panel of distinguished journalists on Sept. 27 to discuss, “Meredith & the Media: Legacy of a Riot.”
Sidna Brower Mitchell, who served as editor of The Daily Mississippian in 1962; Kathleen Wickham, UM professor of journalism; and Curtis Wilkie, Overby fellow emeritus and former journalism professor, will discuss the media’s role both during and after the ensuing riot, and how that event has shaped the public’s view of Ole Miss in the decades since. C-SPAN’s Jesse Holland will moderate.
The fall schedule continues Oct. 5, with a panel event titled “A Sisterhood of Editors.” Amidst today’s remarkably tense racial and political climate, three African American females are leading some of the most important newsrooms in the South.
Katrice Hardy, of the Dallas Morning News; Mary Irby-Jones, Louisville Courier-Journal; and Jewell Walston, Asheville Citizen-Times, will share stories of industry challenges, news deserts and the daily fight to preserve the nation’s democracy. Overby fellow Marquita Smith will moderate.
And finally, the center will close out the semester on Nov. 16, when Overby fellow Terry Mattingly, in discussion with Charles Overby, the center’s founder and chairman, takes an in-depth look at the role of religion in both the 2022 midterm and 2024 general elections.
All programs are free and open to the public. Sessions begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Overby Center Auditorium, each followed by a reception and open bar.