Newswise — It's as true now as ever that you can't eat magnolias, or at least you probably shouldn't. "You Can't Eat Magnolias" is the title of the 1972 manifesto written by a group of progressive Southerners with a vision for the region that included overcoming racism, poverty and ignorance.
While great strides have been made in the South in the last decades, the vision of the book's creators, the L.Q.C. Lamar Society, certainly has not been realized completely. But the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi is actively trying to realize the Lamar Society's dream of a racially reconciled, educated and economically viable South.
The Center has invited leaders from academia, government, nonprofit organizations, business and media " including longtime Tennessean journalist John Siegenthaler " to the university Nov. 18-20 to address the many public policy issues facing the South.
The American South, Then and Now: From the L.Q.C. Lamar Society to the Endowment for the Future of the South is the first activity of a new initiative of UM's Center for the Study of Southern Culture. Created through a $500,000 matching grant from Meridian's Phil Hardin Foundation, the Endowment for the Future of the South initiative promotes examination of contemporary Southern social issues through such activities as the American South symposium.
"The Future of the South project is designed to feed ideas to groups like the Southern Growth Policies Board (the North Carolina-based non-partisan think tank whose goal is economic development) and the Southern Regional Council (the Atlanta-based group whose goal is to 'promote racial justice, protect democratic rights and broaden civic participation')," said CSSC director Charles Reagan Wilson. "We want to put forth the idea that Southern cultural context is important in understanding policy issues."
Wilson said that understanding policy issues is of course a key step in finding solutions to problems that have long plagued the South, such as poverty and race relations.
To that end, the upcoming symposium, which is free and open to the public, features panel discussions on race relations, religion, philanthropy, media and political parties, among other issues. A separate session addresses the continuities and changes in contemporary Southern culture.
Among the notable Southerners visiting UM for the event are author John Egerton, civil rights activist and former Assistant Secretary of State Patricia Derian and journalist Hodding Carter III. Former Gov. William Winter and former Anniston (Ala.) Star editor and publisher H. Brandt Ayers are slated to deliver keynote addresses.
A highlight of the symposium is the reunion of the L.Q.C. Lamar Society. Founded 35 years ago this fall, the Lamar Society's call to go beyond ideology to rethink the South's development not only included the publication of "You Can't Eat Magnolias" but also led to the creation of the Southern Growth Policies Board.
The symposium schedule includes a special session on the society's work and dinner honoring former members.
In many ways, the Future of the South project aims to replicate the work of the Lamar Society, whose members eventually moved on to such groups as SGPB and the Southern Regional Council.
Wilson said that he hopes the symposium and other Future of the South events will draw young people "to carry on the tradition" of the Lamar Society. He said he also wants to draw participation in the Future of the South project from all ethnic groups of the region.
Mike Cody, former Lamar Society president and a symposium panelist, said that the events and activities of the Future of the South initiative will allow Southerners to "consider whether there is something unique about the South that can show the rest of the country something positive."
"We hope to establish a community of like-minded people around the region " a nondenominational, nonpartisan, progressive group," Cody said. "We hope to identify people across the spectrum and put them together to share ideas."
Although the American South panels and addresses are free, registration is encouraged. Registration and a fee are required for three optional events: a reception, lunch and Lamar Society reunion dinner.
RSS