Tag: lillian e smith

+

Keri Leigh Merritt “History Marker Honoring Lillian Smith”

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”

+

Professional Development Opportunity โ€œThe Civil Rights Movement in Northeast Georgiaโ€

When I worked at the Ernest J. Gaines Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, one of the programs that I wanted to implement was an annual professional development opportunity for area educators, providing them a space to learn about Gainesโ€™ work and the history and people that informed it, looking at how all of it shaped the community and region in which we lived … Read More Professional Development Opportunity โ€œThe Civil Rights Movement in Northeast Georgiaโ€

+

Spring 2022 LES Studies Course

I always enjoy teaching the Lillian E. Smith Studies Course. This semester will be my third time teaching it, and each time I try and connect Smith’s work with the present moment. Typically, I try to work in connection with student interests, since the class is relatively small, when choosing texts. Last year, we did Michelle Alexander’s The New Jim Crow and NPR’s podcast … Read More Spring 2022 LES Studies Course

+

Rereading Lillian Smith’s “Strange Fruit” :Part II

Last post, I started looking at my thoughts after I reread Lillian Smith’s Strange Fruit for a virtual book club. I discussed the issues that i still have with the novel, but I also pointed out that, after reading more of Smith’s work, my thoughts about the novel have shifted some, and I see what Smith wanted to accomplish with it. I see the … Read More Rereading Lillian Smith’s “Strange Fruit” :Part II

+

Rereading Lillian Smith’s “Strange Fruit” :Part I

Sometimes, a book, for whatever reason, does not grab you on the first read through. This was definitely the case with Lillian Smith’s Strange Fruit (1944). The first time I read Smith’s bestselling novel, I found it lacking, for a myriad of reasons. I think part of this feeling stemmed from all of the novels I have read, by Black authors, about interracial intimacy, … Read More Rereading Lillian Smith’s “Strange Fruit” :Part I