The third "Delta: Everything Southern!" symposium, June 26 at The University of Memphis, will showcase a series of lectures on life and the history of the Mississippi Delta region.
The symposium's schedule begins with a presentation titled "Chai Cotton: Jewish Life in the Mississippi Delta" by Stuart Rockoff, director of the history department at the Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Following Rockoff, Gloria Dickerson will present "Somebody Had to Do It," her story of being one of the first black students to integrate the Drew, Miss. public school system.
Charlotte Hays, author of several books about Southern life including "Somebody Is Going to Die If Lilly Beth Doesn't Catch That Bouquet," will present "The Delta Way of Death." Willy Bearden, filmmaker and author, will present "Something in the Water: Delta Writers and the World." Bearden will talk about the lives of several Southern authors, including Shelby Foote and William Faulkner.
Other presentations include Charles Crawford's "Sullen, Untamed, Intractable: The 1927 Mississippi River Flood," as well as Eden Brent's "That's How Boogaloo Did It" and Charles Weissinger's "The Largest Naval Battle in American History Won by the Infantry."
The presentations, held at the Fogelman Executive Center, are scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. and continue until 2:45 p.m., with breaks as well as a buffet lunch and door prizes. The event will conclude with an open discussion with speakers, in order to allow the audience to address the speakers.
Parking, lunch and break times with refreshments are included in the $50 registration fee, but admission is free for University of Memphis students and $25 for students of other schools.
