UTM’s 20thannual Civil Rights conference will be held Feb. 17-20, 2020.
The Civil Rights Conference planning committee met Oct. 22 to discuss what the upcoming conference will entail.
The conference is a week where students, faculty and guests participate in a wide variety of events to raise awareness for Civil Rights issues, both past and present. There will be an assortment of panels, speeches and events throughout the week.
The keynote speaker for the 2020 conference is Joan Trumpauer Mulholland. She is a civil rights activist from Arlington, Virginia, who, according to the Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation website, “participated in over 50 sit-ins and demonstrations by the time she was 23 years old…For her actions, she was disowned by her family, attacked, shot at, cursed at, put on death row and hunted down by the Klan for execution.”
Mulholland will be speaking about her experiences at 7 p.m. on Feb. 20 to round out the conference. There will also be a showing of her son’s documentary featuring her during the conference.
In addition to the keynote speaker, Kevin “Wak” Williams, an African American artists, will exhibit his work on campus.
Other possible names to expect are Pedrito Martinez, an Afro-Latino American percussionist, Lelann Evans, who will present information on voter registration, and Jim Emison who will speak about Elbert Williams, the last recorded lynching victim in Tennessee.
The Weakley County Reconciliation Project will also have a round table and presentation on the history of lynching in Tennessee.
A roundtable discussion on current civil rights issues, such as transgender issues and immigration rights, is also in the process of being planned, along with a roleplaying exercise on how to intervene against discriminatory actions and destroying the bystander effect, which will be led by Amy McLean on “How Not To Be That Person.”
A health panel discussing the effects of issues of class on healthcare availability is also being planned. This panel would be used to educate students on resources that are available at UTM for help with mental, physical and sexual health.
The schedule of the events is still in the works and the concrete schedule will be released at a later date.
For more information, visit http://www.utm.edu/departments/civilrights/.
