As the date approached to unveil the historical marker honoring the life, work, and legacy of Lillian E. Smith I kept stressing over how many people would attend the event. I didn’t think, at any point, about how I’d actually feel during the ceremony itself. However, when the ceremony began on that cloudless spring day, with the birds singing in the trees and the … Read More Reflections on Lil
+ civil rights, historical marker, history, keri leigh merritt, lillian e smith, martin luther king, jr
Yesterday, the Lillian E. Smith Center unveiled a historical marker honoring Smith’s life. work, and legacy. I am still process this event and its impact because as the program commenced and went on, I found myself becoming overwhelmed with emotions, and I am still, right now, processing those thoughts. I plan to write about the ceremony in an upcoming post. Today, though, I want … Read More Keri Leigh Merritt “History Marker Honoring Lillian Smith”
+ a gathering of old men, capitalism, ernest j gaines, frank yerby, karl marx, keri leigh merritt, socialism, whiteness
Last post, I started looking at the ways that capitalism structures society in Ernest Gaines’ A Gathering of Old Men. Using Karl Marx’s “Preface” from A Critique of Political Economy, I noted how legal and social structures arise from the foundation of capitalism, working in tandem to construct the superstructure that separate individuals from one another based on wealth and power. Today, I want … Read More Capitalism in Ernest Gaines’ “A Gathering of Old Men”
+ chuck brown, collaboration of the dream, keri leigh merritt, lillian e smith, marie cochran, sho baraka
In October 2019, the Lillian E. Smith Center hosted “Celebrating Lillian Smith,” a symposium commemorating the 75th anniversary of Strange Fruit. Last October, we hosted “Untangling Whiteness: Reflection and Action,” a virtual conference that explored the constructions of whiteness and ways for us to works towards a more equitable society for all. This coming Thursday, March 4, the Lillian E. Smith Center will host … Read More Collaboration of the Dream
+ before they called you white, brother ali, el-p, keri leigh merritt, killer mike, killers of the dream
Last post, I started writing about the ways that the wealthy work to divide and conquer by stoking false fears and false hopes in those below them, separating individuals from one another. Keri Leigh Merritt details how this game plan worked during the Antebellum period, and after Emancipation and the Civil War, she notes that while land access opened to poor whites, most of … Read More Divide and Conquer: Part II
Interminable Rambling 