Each artwork a different chapter print hope you can visit soon. Summa hello look at the southern festival of books. I am your host jared porter apply to join us today. Before we begin, on the behalf of humanities tennessee at think a direct of the southern festival of books. Metro National Arts commission, ingram content group, tennessee arts convention, and about university and Parnassus Book spray think of your support that makes this event possible. And speaking of support the festival is free part is a event and donations of individuals like you help make it possible every year. If you believe this event in sessions like this one, you can help it happen. Please give at hum tn. Org. Again that is hum tn. Org. A couple of vermonters before we begin. Parnassus books his official bookseller for the festival in purchasing through them keeps the festival freak and buy books today to the links of the top of the chats. You have an opportunity to ask questions later in the session is your tuning and gift Facebook Live or youtube you consummate questions by downloading the festival app or through the streaming site www. Hum tn. Org tn. Org sfv. Again hum tn. Org sfv. Class questions and comment in the live, be civil and respectful. The festivals apple blue monitoring and removed comment if needed country that wont be needed. I know than to introduce our special guest. Wando lloyd is the author of coming full circle from jim crow to journalism. Distribute africanamerican woman who grew up in the south in 1950s and 60s. Shoot on to hold some of the highestranking newspaper leadership positions in america and was one of the first africanamerican women to be top editor of a mainstream daily newspaper. Coming full circle is a window at the intersection of race, gender, culture and the medias role in america democracy. She is currently working on anthology with her coeditor, novelist tina mack wright called meeting the table. Africanamerican women right on race, culture and community. Shes also norm the Georgia Writers Association board of directors. To impel them as a professor, oratory and human rights activists. One of the leading activists. Hes a founder and curator of the Jim Crow Museum of a racist memorabilia at Paris University in big rapids michigan. 13000 collection that teaches about race, Race Relations through artifacts. Through various universities a professor of sociology and head of diversity and inclusion. Hes the coauthor paste derives a remarkable experience of education during jim crow when she is here to talk about today. Look forward to hearing where speakers has to say is as im sure you are. Well start with wando, welcome wando. Guest thank you jared its a pleasure to be here at the southern festival of books. Really honored to be included in this event. My memoir is a story of a young girl who grew up in the south in the 1950s and 60s. He became a top newspaper edito editor. My dream was always to be a journalist. I went to school and a time or were told where we could go to school how we could go to school the kind of equipment had, the resources we had been secondhand books, furniture handed down from white schools. Our teachers were all black. In my life all the way through high school was completely blackbird that was not a silly bad thing. As a good thing and that we had a sense of community. We supported each other, grew up in a black neighborhood in a time when some of the people there were College Educated and some barely finished high schoo school. But we did not discriminate amongst ourselves in terms of class. We all live together, work together, supported each other. I tell stories in my memoir about the neighbor ladies who are part of my village. Shed sit on my grandmothers porch drinking lemonade out of mason jars or would send me to the store sometimes to get a cocacola with a few coins. I didnt know theyre getting high on the front porch. [laughter] anyone knows about those two things, they can make you a little bit goofier and intoxicated. Theres fun to corrupt and that kind of environment. We had segregated libraries. Our library, we had a flak library would go to on the weekend following the direction of our teachers who take a couple of buses they get to the library, the carnegie lever was a black library. And then would have to order the book from the library that often our teachers needed. Because sometimes the books we want to were not in the black library. They were the big White Library downtown. Take wood to get the book to get them back to us. Men take the bus back home the following week and we go back to life and pick up the books that we wanted. We had segregated parks. We cannot when the parks in savannah that other people went too. So i say that to save the segregated upbringing. Then i transitioned into this mainstream world. I decided the 11th grade journalism is what i wanted to do after i was editor of my paper in high school. On so i went to, i found myself in a situation as copy editor my first news role, first of seven daily paper newsrooms were scared to death because id never really spent time with the white people. I did know how to talk to people. I did not understand the cultural things they were talking about. We had read different books would seem different movies. Our growing up years were very different. Those accomplished in itself. I was no longer in the south. My book is really in for parts. I like to send us four themes in my book. My family that is my history and the history of our country at the time. The second story is the journalism because i became a journalist. There are lots of stories in there about being a journalist, becoming an editor becoming a Senior Editor at usa today. Went to read a little bit about my time story from my time at the usa today. Another part is leadership because i became a leader in every newspaper and how the book is really about how i became a leader and i finally had when i was at usa today. Because we did not have mentors growing up. My journalism teacher in high school didnt know anyone who worked in a daily newspaper. She taught journalism from a book. So here i was learning to be a leader and industry that africanamericans had become leaders in. The fourth part is about diversity. Because i became a diversity advocate. Realizing that in the 70s when i entered my first newsroom in 1970 as an intern and i was the only one part i was only one who looks like me in that room. One of two women in the newsroom at the time. So there is great work to be done. Newspaper sums in the value of diversity they do a lot of training and newsrooms. I became a diversity advocate. Also to the American Society newspaper editors. One to a story, short story at a time and a Senior Editor usa not only bring the newsroom from the business side wondered some people in the newsroom. I was 40 million but that was a big deal. I was also responsible for the daily planning of the newspaper. Around two of the three daily news meetings we talked about. Usually the following day. Hera was we were in northern virginia. I did notice caller id the number from the local 703 Virginia Area code. Desk phone rang i have a proper business suit and highheeled pumps supporting those errata race down the halls the Conference Room to sit at the head of the table to lead one of the daily usa today business meetings. I was getting into the room before my meeting time my leadership encouraged others refocusing meeting will begin on time. My daughters summer camp was calling me. Mrs. Roy, i need to share something that happened was shelby today. Sorry awesome place. My heart raced, fearful that my five year old daughter had fallen and cracked open her school on the alexandria campus. Or should let the grounds and police were looking for her were she drowned in the pool. The last fear was probably because it she was two years old i made sure to enroll shelby and swimming lessons for her daycare program. The time he called all the kids out of the pool today, shelby had dropped her tile in the water, the director told me. The children take a rest and quite done on their tile after pool time. Soviets were the other little girls if she could share her dry towel. The little girl told shelby no because she said mike grandy said i cant let black people touch me because the black might wear off. My mind now far away from the urgency of the news meeting going on down the hall without me struggled to process what i had just heard. The black might wear off . I repeated into the phone. Not to the Camp Director but to myself. Stunned i walked through my desk and close the office door. Someone else would have to lead the meeting. My tears were starting to fall. I was angry that i live through jim crow years home we are told when, where, how to exist. I survived the humiliation of being called a necker, funding spat out, living the dual rights of the best blackness in the best black that. Not just the best at something. I had grown up in the south where we were never surprised the 1950s and 1960s about what white people thought about us are said out loud to us. Or denied us the right too the best education or careers or neighborhood. Here i was more than 20 years after leaving the jim crow south and some white grandfather had instilled in one of his own my child was a danger to his child because mine was black. I was not mad at that child. It was not her fault. And is not mad at the director because the daughter of the employee was immediately sent home is confronted with the reason why my shelby is left crying by the pool because this little girl would not share a towel. Shelby was not old enough to understand the racist statement the black might wear off. She was just happy someone she probably considered a friend had denied her the opportunity to share her tile, her space. All the shelbys lesson was clearly to be more careful with her towel. But is my fingers wept across my tears i recognize that i had to go home that night and explained to my daughter, as best i could explain it the lesson white girl learn from her grandfather. Someone who probably had the racist behavior of its own ancestors. Id not imagined i would still be done this with this kind of racist behavior directed towards my own child. Now i fear that shelby may someday have to deal with racism with her own children. And her childrens children. The thought angered me to it this day. So i tried to tell a lot of the stories in a relatable way instead of just preaching this is bad this is what happened to jim crow. I recognize thats going to my life and my career there still a lot of leftover habits from jim crow all around me. My leaving the south i did not leave jim crow behind. There all of the country people have moved here and there. Its still going on. Im hopeful my memoir will inspire young people who are aspiring and other careers. And also leaders. Lunch important for other africanamericans and women that we provide opportunity wherever they are. We Learned Leadership in summary different places. Talk in the book about the leadership lessons i got in my neighborhood, my church, by school and my college where i was editor of my paper in college as well. There are lots of opportunities for leadership. And clearly those opportunities might get our careers is important. The biggest lesson whats with young people with when you become a leader please popa chair bring someone else along. Show other people how to become leaders. Im proud to mention ive been able to do that. My books really outline those things as well. Thank you for this opportunity and i look forward to your questions. Student thank you wando, powerful memories. Changing times in some ways a change in ways they havent. I know your story will continue. There are more chapters to be written. David. Went to bring you into the chat in the conversation here. Look forward to your remarks about jim crow and all of the works. Think its a much as talking to wando before he went on the air. I said to her i sometimes feel like i went to sleep and 2020 but we awakened a 1957. Much of the rhetoric i hear nationally sounds a lot like what it sound up when i was growing up in alabama in the 1960s. That is unfortunate. What people come to the Jim Crow Museum what was it like to live during the jim crow during the civil rights struggle . What i say to them is we are still living during the civil rights struggle. Despite many changes that have occurred in this country. Think its much for inviting me here. I will likely start with the reading. Im hopefully it comes through. Im glad to get started. A mural troubles me. I was not a mural in the narrow sense. A painting on a wall. Rather its a free having painting on a spread canvas. The mural is a massive displayed in the atrium of the arts and Sciences Building at ferris State University. The three panels are presented in an inverted tshaped. The left panel, movers and shakers portrays the Administrative Team as they plan the universitys future. The right panel, activities as a collection of fictional student athletes. The center panel is called the visionary. The dominant figure is wood which bears the universitys founder. He is larger than the other figures and appears to be looking over them as they continue the work that he began in 1884. The mural is a visual success. Robert barnum the merrills creator is an artist. He is still an artist and is familiarity with the institution had been employed as a professor for seven years, made him a likely candidate for painting the mural. Barnum envisioned a historical allegorical painting of bear State University. Nana used his papers to tell the stories that he knew. The story that barnum knew, indeed the story most of us knew have little to say about the africanamerican presence at their State University. Theres a couple ambiguous characters in the painting theres only one finger that clearly represents an africanamerican. A black man holding a sign that says negotiate now. Viewers of the mural might reasonably infer that africanamericans were a little consequence in the history of the universe. Seventeen years i taught sociology at ferris State University. Much of that time i had an office in the arts and Sciences Building. So i saw that mural hundreds of times. My critique of the painting and softened by the realization that even though i am an africanamerican, one who frequently taught courses about Race Relations i too knew little about the history of africanamericans at fairburn id heard racial fights in the 1960s and student protests in the 80s. And i had a vague knowledge of the bin smith reputed to be the first africanamerican student. That is all i knew. It pains me to it say this, but the mural bothered me because i believed it was true , historically accurate interpretation of the past. Now i know better. And so the it happened mvp for diversity and inclusion in our campus, our campus is profoundly white. I said to frankly he is the coauthor of by book, go in find a photograph of gideon smith. We thought he was the first africanamerican at the school. Were going to build a sculpture or some huge painting. And he went and found a painting a picture. But it had several africanamericans. I said who are these other people . And he said he didnt know. I said okay but we need to find out. And he should get credit for this story. I was with the creation of the story. He began to dig in old newspapers and an Old University catalogs. What we discovered was between 1910 between 1910 and the 1920s, over 60 African Americans came from hampton institute, north, to bear State University to take college prep classes. That not exaggerating when i say this, they were some of the most influential people in the American Civil Rights movement. And in the history of this country. For example the first africanamerican to win a case before the United States supreme court. You have to understand how much pride i had when i discovered that he was one of the students who attended what was called then fair institute. His editor of the pittsburgh courier. On first africanamerican in 1947 become the first africanamerican to be admitted to the press corps on the houses of congress. Attended ferris pretties one of the students who came from hampton to ferris. But we discovered many of them. They lived amazing lives an owner told the story before. Until kind of reminds me, sometimes people say why do black history and mexican history and womens history and all these other histories. My answer is if you dont want all these histories just do it right. And right history in a way thats inclusive, auteur and accurate. Two thats a story thats told in the book. Its also the story of our founders. Because long fun of it before is normal our founders anti racist advocate. As i said before, he brought the students input he also brought booker t. Washington to address our students. He would read from the writings of booker t. Washington from wd boyd and other African American americans. He was reading writings for example the soul of the black folks at 1903 when it first came out it was very controversial. He also by the way every think of john brown who is one of the most divisive characters in american history, some people see him as a madman, a crazed fanatic, others see him as a house store column figure who helped usher in civil war. While for a White College president in the early 1900s to be praising john brown as a hero was uncommon. When the birth of a nation came out he condemned it. He used his position as governor to help African Americans. So this book was also an opportunity to celebrate our founder. Its kind of interesting. I was talking to franklin and i said this was a labor of love. But it was most definitely labo labor. Ive always been a little jealous of my colleagues who were writers who could set aside an hour a day for a glass of sherry and a paragraph. I am not that guy. I just write until it is done. So anyway im proud of the work. If franklin were here with me today he would share that pride. So anyway thats the peace. I did want to mention a little bit about the museum. The Jim Crow Museum is located at ferris State University. We are the nations largest publicly accessible facility using objects of intolerance to promote social justice. And the museum has been its Current Location since 2002 2012. But we have received so many thousands of objects. Some of them are worth quite a bit of money. People come from all of the country because they know were going to deep and meaningful discussions about race. We are in the early stages of building a new museum, i think you guys probably have a picture of that. It is an amazing concept spirit look at that are you freaking kidding me . That is amazing. We are going to bring people from all of the world to this place and continue to do the things that Many Americans dont want to do. But all of us know deep down that we ought to be doing it. Which is to have engaged conversations about Race Relations and racism. So thanks so much for having me on here. Ill defer my time to the question and answer section for its direct think its a much look forward to visiting one day i cannot wait for the doors to open. What you have just shown us in the meantime its an incredible look at our history, our path some of the comfortable portions of it. That actually brings me to it a question i would like to throw out. You know we talked about some of the disturbing things from our past that are cycling back around today, some have never gone away of course. There are disturbing things, a lot of concerns out there. But looking at it in a different way, are the things that are hopefully think that are repeating themselves . There were things that created a lot of hope and movement and way forward. Back then with everything going on. Do you see that happening again today . And the concerning aspects that are arising again . If i could start i would say i am hopeful after the unfortunate death of george flor, Breonna Taylor and im hopeful someone people took to the streets and express themselves in protesting i am discouraged by some the things that went on during the protest and some of the conversations that went on during the protest that distracted us from that. Yet again im hopeful because i see so many young people. And i see so may people who are not africans americans out there protesting. In the midst of covid. Taking that chance, trying to be as safe as possible many of them hopefully most of them were very safe. And it expanded, exploded really throughout the world. So im really hopeful about that. I see some of it is still going on. I hope it will remain as peaceful as possible. Because i dont think we will get anywhere with violence. I can only be hopeful, im holding my breath until after the election, just to see. I think congress some action has to take place. We saw that the 1960s of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights act. Congress has to get involved. And i know thats not going to happen until maybe next year. So im holding in reserve my hope that. Im also hopeful, you mentioned my friend whos working on a book that gives me hope as well. You talk to david about the conversations about race. We are starting the conversation with the book meeting at the american table. And im hoping so many other communities start having those conversations africanamerican women in this case is a cute video on facebook yesterday with women, cant run but who the women worth they were all one career. Theyre all hbc graduates. And they said okay men and shorts are now and the men had this little commercial that they did just talking about opening how proud they are to be black. I think those conversations have to go on in many, many creative ways. One of the proponents of conversations about race for a long time for thinking now are starting to see that. I would second that. Thats the work that we do in the newsroom. The fact is this country has had social Justice Movements or generations of it for many, many decades per the current social Justice Movement set off by the killing of george floyd and others, i think has certainly caused not just corporations and Police Departments but every part of our society to think seriously about the role of race and racism in the larger society. But also in ourselves. Its a shame that often good conversation follows atrocities. It should not take the killing of a black man or woman to do that. Unfortunately it often does. So to answer your question about whether or not im hopeful, i actually am hopeful. Went that branding changed with aunt jemima, we got phone calls of course because weve been pushing for that for decades. Some people would say yes that is just symbolism. Doesnt really do anything. That is not true. Symbols matter. It is part of a larger effort. Which includes also helping this country get over systematic instances of racism and injustice. Again if it gets this nation to do the things many of its citizens are most reluctant to do, which is to have engaged in productive conversation then yes that is good. And in that sense i am hopeful. Thank you both. Just what to remind our viewers you do have an opportunity to submit questions. You can do that through the festival app. And also the Live Streaming sit site, we do submit your questions would have about ten minutes left. Wed love to know whats on your mind. Youre a member of the jim crow memorabilia. Youre coming right with very troubling things, what would you say is that museums purpose . And what would you hope is the facetoface with the artifacts with the visuals, when you help people come away with . I think our name is misleading. What it says Jim Crow Museum people assume we only have objects in the past. It is true that most of the objects in the museum were objects created between the 18th century in the 1960s. We also have sections on brandnew options that are created. One of my friends he travels on the country telling people that jim crow is him has a wing dedicated to objects that defame and belittle president obama. Its not a wing. We certainly have lots of objects that quite frankly mock president obama and often in ways they wouldve associated with the past. So to answer your question, i had an epiphany recently at the museum. Yes we have some civil rights places there. Yes we hasnt objects that show africanamerican achievement, africanamericans pushing back against these objects. But most of the museum are these ugly things you reference. I my epiphany was this. This museum is really a museum to the resiliency of africanamerican people. Because when you see in one space all of these efforts, thousands of everyday objects. Any objects you think i wear a racist version of it. You think of a society where racism was so embedded in the everyday objects in the everyday lives of people. And yet despite that, africanamericans accomplish great things in the society. So in that sense, it hit me like an epiphany. This is about resiliency. This is about not allowing others to stop you. Subject thank you david. I will pose the next question to wando. The same vein we talked about not letting circumstances stop you. Wando did you have experiences in your past we really had to, feel sorry for asking it but you had to fight to get to where you got . You occupied some of the highest newspaper leadership positions in the country several times over. What it take for you to get there . Im not exactly called fight but he would call a struggle. At the Washington Post were i for 11 years i repeatedly tried to get promoted to different roles because i saw quite frankly white people who were less qualified than me doing some things i thought i could d do. I never had designs on being an managing editor top editor of the washington pace to my last name is not graham. I didnt own the newspaper didnt look like them and i know it wasnt gonna happen because quite frankly our leadership in the newsroom at the time brilliant editor ben bradley, diversity is not the top of his agenda. It was a very good editor but diversity is not there. I did apply for several roles. When you hear every time you apply for something you hear codewords like youre not smart enough. You dont have the personality. You dont have the background. You dont have the depth of knowledge, those kinds of codewords that basically say your black and youre not gonna work in this role. At some point i had to think about this is the place for me. When i went to the post was such a great newspaper, still is part of that this is a place of going to retire from. Thats when i had to realize it was not going to happen. So fighting for me, struggling for me was probably the most at the Washington Post for then i became a Senior Editor at usa today and a managing editor in greenville, south carolina, executive director in montgomery. Expect my struggle was to change coverage should change the way we looked at coverage of African Americans. One of the struggles i talk about in the book is explaining to the editors at these newspapers that its a very simple thing to continue to run the mugshots of Young African males who were arrested for crimes day after day after day. You pick up the paper and every day theres mugshots to semen the orange uniform or whatever the uniform was at the county jail or the city jail. And it took having a conversation with chiefs of police into communities where i was editor to talk about what that means in the community. What did they hear from people who see this in the news people day after day on page one. I brought those Police Chiefs into the newsroom to talk to the editor to have that conversation about race. And that is the rule. We would no longer run the pictures of any criminal suspects who on page one. Who just stop that whether theyre black, white, mail, female whoever they were. Because quite frankly the police chief said they are disproportionately number of young black men who are arrested. And there are lots of reasons for that. Systematic racist reasons for that. A lot during the drug years the drug wars at a time with lots of gun violence and we still do. But they did not need to have their pictures out there. They are just suspects at the time. The only exception was if someone was at large and threat to society. They were violent and not yet arrested that was the exception. So that was one of the biggest struggles that i had. And it works but it took a little while to get you stupid i had a little pushback from some folks say weve always done it that way thats why we do it. But eventually people got past that. With a comment from a viewer i wanted to bring outs, the viewer says thank you to both offers for comments again we talked about their very troubling and concerning things that happen in the course of history and in the course of the here and now. Think its important to also remember the things the Silver Linings the things that give us hope that you both certainly have done that. I went to comment on something david brought up. He talked about how things are changing the corporate world. And now all the sudden corporations are making changes. They are hiring these Vice President s for diversity, inclusion, equity at all those things. Im in between right after i started seeing, im glad to see them but i hope to see folks there hope the report to the ceo that come with the agency of making change in their organization. I would also say even in the newspaper business or in the immediate business goes beyond newspaper, im starting to hear different corporations have asked me to it come and speak virtually to some of their staff about the importance of diversity. And give them literally tools for how they can achieve more diversity. Some of the things we did back in the 80s and 90s that we were on track for diversity. That got shut down in 2008 because of the recession. And it never really picked up again until 2020 and the time we talked about it after the death of george floyd. And now they speak to that. So a lot of organizations are getting a little more serious but i hope it continues. Takes it out of the pantry when the bottle is empty im glad to say one have to buy another bottle of aunt jemima syrup. Make these changes. Student think of a much my friend thats all the time we have brittany want to thank wando, author of coming full circle from jim crow to journalism. And david pilgrim coauthor of hastes black education during jim crow. In Closing Remarks here, sit important conversation. Wando and david had given a lot to think about certainly. And i thank him for the work they done. In this matter such a great deal for another comment wonderful, insightful conversation. So just an honor for all of us to be a part of this. Before we close like to remind our viewers that donations from festivalgoers help make the southern festival of books possible every year end free pray few believe in the festival and sessions like this and please give it h you m tm. Org that is hum tn. Org. You can go securely online. Is assessing can close and going to donate to help you will too. Lastly like to purchase books from the session you can do so at the links posted in the chat area or through the website at ht dpp are nasas books. Net ssb. I think weve all got a lot of good reading to enjoy. Hope you check that out and remembered help support the festival. Thank you wando, thank you david and i wish you good day. Spent thank you. Thank you. You are watching book tv on cspan2. Heres whats coming up, next Lieutenant General h. R. Mcmaster over National Security advisor to President Trump offers his on the Foreign Policy and challenges facing the u. S. Patent jessica ghetto reports on the refugee system later journalist david davis provides the first Wheelchair Basketball Team comprised of world war ii veterans. Buy more Schedule Information on your Program Guide booktv. Org. Select thank you for joining the Institute Author and insight book talk series. Series of discussions with authors and important newly released books on american politics, policy and leadership. 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