OXFORD, Miss. – Forty-eight hours before presidential hopefuls John
McCain and Barack Obama are scheduled to debate national security and
foreign policy issues later this month at the University of
Mississippi, a cadre of renowned authors, civil rights activists and
educators meet on campus to discuss the transformation of politics in
the South.
The daylong Mississippi Politics Symposium is scheduled Sept. 24 in the Overby Center Auditorium, with panel sessions set for 10 a.m. and 2 and 4 p.m. Co-sponsors of the event are the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics, Trent Lott Leadership Institute and William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation. Admission is free and open to the public, with a reception to follow the concluding discussion.
“The Presidential Debate Commission’s selection of the University of Mississippi to host the first debate (on Sept. 26 in the Ford Center) affords us an opportunity to confront head-on the biggest single issue that has affected the state in the eyes of the rest of the country – that is, race,” said Curtis Wilkie, UM Overby Center Fellow and associate professor of journalism. “We felt the best way to approach this was by looking at how events in the state over the past 50 years changed American politics.”
The opening discussion focuses on the Mississippi Freedom Democrats’ Challenge of the1964 convention. Featured panelists include Lawrence Guyot, former chairman of Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party; Rita Schwerner Bender, widow of Mickey Schwerner, a victim of the Neshoba County murders that year; John Dittmer, DePauw University professor and author of “Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi”; and Charles E. Cobb Jr., former member of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee and author of “On the Road to Freedom: A Guided Tour of the Civil Rights Trail.” Susan Glisson, director of the Winter Institute, is the panel moderator.
“The MFDP forced the National Democratic Party to change its rules, opening the doors to women, African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Asian-Americans,” Wilkie said. “This courageous group defied President Johnson and the national political machine. The results were revolutionary.”
The second panel discussion considers the realignment of political parties in Mississippi and the South. Presenters include Clarke Reed, former longtime chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party; Hodding Carter III, former co-chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party following the MFDP challenge; and Leslie McLemore, political science professor at Jackson State University and president of the Jackson City Council. Jack Bass, former UM professor of journalism and author of “The Transformation of Southern Politics,” is the moderator.
The final panel focuses on the current political scene and beyond. Confirmed panelists include Mary Coleman, associate dean of the JSU College of Liberal Arts and a scholar of civil rights history and politics. U.S. Reps. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) and Benny Thompson (D-Miss.) have also been invited to participate. Robert Haws, chair of Public Policy Leadership and associate professor of history at the Lott Institute, will moderate.
“This discussion is the Lott Institute’s first of many collaborations with the Overby Center,” said William Gottshall, executive director of the Lott Institute. “Our hopes are to reflect on the progress Mississippi has made in addressing our problems of the past.”
UM hosts the first 2008 presidential debate Sept. 26. Sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, the event is to be broadcast live from the Ford Center for the Performing Arts and covered by an estimated 3,000 journalists from throughout the world.
For more information about the Mississippi Politics Symposium, contact Curtis Wilkie at 662-915-1707. For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7236.