Lucerne >> Though Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” deals heavily with themes of racial inequality in the 1930s, it’s a book that remains very relevant today. It’s for that reason Marymount University in Lucerne will host a free To Kill a Mockingbird-themed discussion panel this Friday evening as part of the Lake County Big Read.
The panel will feature three speakers who have extensive experience with the 1960s southern civil rights movement. Their studies and first-hand experience inform their opinions on racial inequality and the themes present in To Kill a Mockingbird. “We’re really fortunate to have these exceptional guest speakers from outside the area,” said Robin Fogel-Shrive, the Big Read Chair. “It’s really exciting that we’re going to have them here and participating in the event.”
One speaker is David Kennedy, a professor of History emeritus at Stanford University who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for his work, “Freedom from Fear: the American People in Depression and War.” He’s also a long-time acquaintance of Bernie Butcher, Tallman Hotel owner and the moderator of the panel. The two met when Butcher attended Stanford in graduate school and Kennedy was the Chairman of the History Department. Butcher became Kennedy’s assistant and they’ve kept in touch ever since.
U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup grew up in Mississippi in the 50s and 60s and graduated from Mississippi State University in 1967 before attending Harvard Law School. Butcher, too, is old friends with Alsup. The two met when Butcher ran a small investment banking firm in San Francisco and continued their friendship over the years. Butcher was familiar with Alsup’s history growing up in the south in the midst of the civil rights movement and asked if he would come up to the area for the discussion.
Local Kelseyville Attorney Peter Windrem rounds out the panel. In 1963 when he was a student at the University of the Pacific, Windrem traveled to Mississippi with a handful of other students from Yale and Harvard. “I saw first hand the effects of the denial of voting rights to the black citizens of Mississippi,” Windrem said.
Tomorrow’s discussion panel is a crucial component of the Lake County Big Read, which is a month-long program taking place every year. It was designed by the National Endowment for the Arts after a study in 2000 found the reading of literature was on decline in the U.S. The study also found a correlation between reading and community involvement. “The same people that were not reading were also not attending a museum or going to a musical concert or volunteering in their community,” Fogel-Shrive said. “It’s really interesting to see that connection between reading and literature and the enhancement of the community.”
So the Big Read’s intention is simple: get the community reading. The program’s board chooses a book (the first year they picked a selection of Edgar Allan Poe short stories and poems) and plans a month’s worth of activities intended to increase reading and participation. “You create programs that are diverse and appeal to all ages,” Fogel-Shrive said. “You try as much as you can to include your whole community in the Big Read, to encourage reading and to also encourage community strengthening through cultural activities.”
This year, they did things a little differently. The Lake County Library is acting as the lead agency and the community helped pick the selection. In the summer of 2014, Fogel-Shrive and the Director of Lake County Libraries, Christopher Veach, made up a list of ten different books and handed out surveys asking the community which they would like to read for the 2015 Big Read. The overwhelming majority chose To Kill a Mockingbird.
“It’s certainly the masterpiece and that’s what we come back to in our canon of literature,” Fogel-Shrive said.
Those who attend Big Read events will receive a free copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. “By having these events we hope to encourage people to read the book,” said Fogel-Shrive. “You don’t have to have read the book to participate but we hope you’ll come away wanting to read it.”
Although Harper Lee’s first novel has been around for almost 55 years, there are still plenty of themes which remain prevalent in today’s society. “The issues are not limited to the south in the civil rights era,” explained Windrem. “We here in Lake County have had and continue to have issues surrounding discrimination. Not nearly as severely, but they’re there.”
Specifically, the discussion panel will focus on voting rights, both in the past and present. “Voting registration is now being looked at. There’s a lot more documentation that’s being required to possibly inhibit certain people from voting,” Fogel-Shrive said. “In terms of society and our lack of equality in our culture, I would say unfortunately it’s very relevant.”
Windrem echoed her thoughts on voting rights. “That was the huge issue and remains still,” he said. “There’s still persistent efforts to restrict voting rights in certain segments of this country. But that was the pathway for back citizens to obtain some power and respect.”
And while the panel will focus on voting, there are certainly other takeaways from To Kill a Mockingbird which have marked the story as an important part of the literary landscape. In the classroom, Fogel-Shrive often speaks with her students about the narrator’s father, Atticus Finch, and his idea that it’s impossible to know a person unless you’ve experienced their life. “It’s a theme that students can really relate to. There’s still a lot of bullying and discrimination that goes on,” she said. “If kids can craft more empathy and more compassion for others, it’s really important for us to highlight that for them.”
Atticus is also a character people turn to time and time again. Butcher ventured that many people have likely attended law school because of Gregory Peck’s depiction of Atticus in the movie adaptation, standing up in court to defend an innocent man.
Of course, there’s also the recently published Harper Lee Manuscript, “Go Set a Watchman,” which brings to light some new revelations about the character of Atticus. Though the community decided on To Kill a Mockingbird before the newest book was released, the discussion will certainly include both titles.
“It’s good to talk more about the historical themes as opposed to the literary style of the book: race relations, integration, southern attitudes, the imposition of northern values on southern white society,” said Butcher. “These are further amplified in Harper Lee’s book that’s just been released, Go Set a Watchman, so we’ll talk about both of those books.”
The event is free of charge and knowing the story is not a requirement. “I expect the discussion to be very fascinating,” Windrem said. “The discussion will be very, very interesting and lively without having read the book.”
The discussion panel begins at 5 p.m. tomorrow at Marymount University in Lucerne. Show up early at 4 p.m. for a tour of the campus by the school’s Executive Director, Michelle Scully.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
