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THE LEADER-TRIBUNE
Vanderbilt professor to speak at FVSU
Fort Valley State
University will tackle ques¬
tions about religion and
politics when Dr. Dennis
C. Dickerson, the James
Lawson Professor of
History and a member of
the Graduate Department
of Religion at Vanderbilt
University, speaks on Jan.
12 .
Dickerson’s visit, part of
the John W Davison Lecture
Series, will begin at 7 p.m.
in the C.W. Pettigrew Farm
and Community Life Center.
His lecture is entitled “Do
Religion and Politics Mix:
The Case of the Careys of
Chicago.”
Dickerson teaches cours¬
es about the Civil Rights
Movement, Religion and
the Civil Rights Movement
and 20th Century African
American Religious History.
Before joining Vanderbilt,
he spent two decades at
Williams College where he
was the Stanfield Professor
of History and served as
chairman of the History
Department and chair¬
man of the Afro-American
Studies Program. Dickerson
was also a visiting profes¬
Todays and yesterdays
Rural residents response to recent map
The Dept. of
Transportation in Georgia
recently revealed that names
of a grand total of 488 small¬
er communities in Ga. had
been removed from the cur¬
rent state maps that were
handed out at visitor centers
and tourist haunts in our
state. A loud and instan¬
taneous cry of outrage was
heard. Had our own home¬
town been listed among
them, you could have added
yet another name to that
outraged group, my own.
Smaller towns and commu¬
nities have often been given
short shift with the majority
of benefits and interest cen
tered upon Atlanta and the
outlying metro areas sur¬
rounding it. You may have
heard it repeated, “There
are now two Georgia’s,
Atlanta and the remainder
of the state.” The late enter
tainer Rodney Dangerfield’s
frequent comment, “I don’t
get no respect,” probably
best described the feelings
of citizens of these deleted
communities. Each was com
posed of a majority of hon¬
est, hard working citizens
and taxpayers who for the
most part were ignored until
election time rolled around
or tax bills were mailed out.
Protests and angry outcries
surfaced immediately. “Hey,
there’s more to our state
than Atlanta and large cit
ies. We are still here and
we’re not going away,” was
the response from places
like Juliette, Box Ankle,
Jay Bird Springs, and
Deepstep. Talking Rock,
Po Biddy, Enigma, and
Chickasawhatchee joined
in. Legislators and the
Governor’s office began
getting the message. The
natives were getting rest
less. Take us off the map!
How dare you!
It’s unwise to get peaceable
people riled as most new
comers realize. The older
generation has belatedly
learned that “the squeaking
wheel gets the grease.” Soon
change was in the air togeth
er with a message from a
spokesperson from the Dept.
of Transportation noting
her regrets. She was sorry
J 1
sor at Payne theological
Seminary and Yale Divinity
School.
Dickerson authored “Out
of the Crucible: Black
Steel Workers in Western
Pennsylvania, 1875-1980”
and “Militant Mediator:
Whitney M. Young, Jr.”
His forthcoming book,
“Protestant Preachers in
the Public Square: The
Careys of Chicago” is under
contract with the University
Press of Mississippi.
In addition to books,
Dickerson has also writ¬
ten numerous scholarly
articles that have appeared
in Pennsylvania Heritage,
the Western Pennsylvania
Historical Magazine, New
Jersey History, New York
State Journal of Medicine,
Church History, Methodist
History, the Journal of
Presbyterian History,
the Journal of Unitarian
Universalist History, and in
several anthologies.
Dickerson has received
several grants and fellow
ships from the American
Council of Learned Societies,
Rockefeller Foundation and
the National Endowment of
1
that residents of the 488
deleted communities were
feeling slighted or left out.
DUHHH! Anyway, assur¬
ances have been made that
their rightful names and
, lac will be forthcoming „
P ? s
on future state maps. Rest
assured that when Aunt
Bertha and Uncle Bill from
Jersey City or Jerkwater
Junction decide to overnight
^h relatives in Jay Bird
Springs while en-route to
their vacation location in
Florida; they will be able to
find their relative’s small
town and visit with Mr. and
Ms. J 0 y Byrd,
The ongoing map flap has
been interesting to follow for
Richard, my cartographer
husband, ”Mr. Mapmaker”
and myself, “Ms Mapmaker”.
When Richard and I were
enjoying our gypsy lifestyle
prior to his retirement from
the U.S. Geological Survey;
it was our habit to stop off
at State Visitors Centers
to stretch our legs, pick up
brochures on local points of
interest and check out the
state maps. What could be
more of interest to someone
who perhaps had a part in
making or updating maps for
the Dept, of the Interior?
While traveling about the
U.S. it wasn’t unusual for
Rich to suddenly brake on
some distant highway out
West and sprint to some
bridge abutment or a giant
boulder in a field to see for
himself if the benchmark
he placed there 20 or 30
years ago was still intact,
Perhaps some are unaware
that it is illegal to
or remove the metal bench-
COM M UNITY
the Humanities.
He is an ordained minis¬
ter in the African Methodist
Episcopal Church and
has served congregations
in Massachusetts, New
York and Tennessee. In
1988, 1992, 2000 and 2004
Dickerson was elected his¬
toriographer. In 2000 he
became editor of the A.M.E.
Church Review. During his
time as historiographer,
Dickerson penned two pub¬
lications, “Religion, Race
and Region: Research Notes
in A.M.E. Church History”
and “A Liberated Past:
Explorations in A.M.E.
Church History.”
Dickerson also served as
president of the American
Society of Church History
and was recently elected
chairman of the Board of
Trustees of the American
Bible Society.
The scholar, historian and
minister earned a bache¬
lor’s degree from Lincoln
University in Pennsylvania
as well as master’s and
doctorate degrees from
Washington University. He
also studied at Hartford
Seminary, Memphis
marks placed by the Dept,
of Interior. You learn a
great deal about geography,
topography, the history of
our towns and cities and the
unique and hardy residents
of our wonderful country in
the process of living among
them. It’s an educational
journey I enjoy recalling
along with the friendships
we made.
My husband celebrated his
86th birthday on Saturday,
January 6th. He has lived
an eventful and exciting life.
In addition to growing up
in Golden, Colorado in one
of the most scenic areas of
our U.S., he participated in
mapping a great deal of our
continental United States.
He was been bitten by a
poisonous snake in Texas,
was tracked by a hungry
Grizzly Bear in Yellowstone,
was chased by irate bulls
on ranches and farms, was
threatened or quizzed suspi¬
ciously by ranchers or moon¬
shiners who mistook his crew
for either cattle rustlers or
revenue agents. He mapped
parts of our great nation
that were accessible only by
pack mules. Even before
his mapmaking adventures,
he survived the Normandy
Invasion in World War II*
and the deadly battles that
followed through France
and Germany before victory
was declared.
He too, feels that the small
towns and communities of
eur state deserve their place
in history and their places
on the maps. Our nation
became great because of the
many small towns and rural
hamlets that later grew into
large towns and because of
the everyday, small-town
people who lived there.
Many of their descendents
still do. These often forgot¬
ten communities continue
to take pride in their state,
their heritage, and their
nation. Throughout history
they have provided “sweat
and blood equity” to pro¬
tect and preserve what we
ei\joy today. Such communi¬
ties and people are the very
backbone of our U.S. of A.
Erase them from our map? I
think not!
Theological Seminary and
Vanderbilt Divinity School.
In 1990 Morris Brown
College conferred him with
the honorary Doctorate of
Humane Letters. He is mar¬
ried to Mary A.E. Dickerson.
The couple has four children
and four grandchildren.
Dickerson will speak at 7
p.m. Friday, Jan. 12, in the
C.W. Pettigrew Farm and
Community Life Center on
the FVSU campus.
The lecture series honors
the first principal of the Fort
Valley High and Industrial
School, the precursor of
Fort Valley State University.
All lectures are held at 7
p.m. in the Pettigrew center.
Admission is free.
The next lecture will be
held on Feb. 9 when Dr.
Margaret Burroughs pres¬
ents “What Shall I Tell My
Children Who Are Black?”
For more information
about the lecture series,
contact Arletha Williams,
JWDLS coordinator, at
(478) 825-6253 or by e-mail
at williamsa@fvsu.edu.
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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2007
Cannon recognized
i|g§r
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