Monday, October 1, 2007

  • September Public Programs at the Clinton School

    2008 Arkansas Artist Calendar
    Arkansas First Lady Ginger Beebe

    To benefit the Governors Mansion Association, First Lady Ginger Beebe launched the 2008 Arkansas Artist Calendar, featuring art from throughout the state, with a reception and book signing at the Clinton School.
    The calendar is really great. Wonder who I will give it to?

    September 12: Covering Little Rock: A Panel Discussion on the 1957 Crisis at Central High and the Press -
    The Associated Press unveiled its Central High 1957 archival exhibit, “With All Deliberate Speed: the AP in Little Rock” at the Clinton School with a panel discussion entitled: “Covering Little Rock".
    The coolest part of this was hearing Kathryn Johnson, former AP civil rights reporter, talk about being invited into the King home for several days following his assassination. She played with the children and was around when many of the decisions regarding the memorial service and funeral were discussed. A very personal story.

    September 24: Harold Ford, Jr., former U.S. Congressman
    Former Congressman Harold Ford Jr., spoke about civil rights and the Central High commemoration. Elected to Congress in Memphis, Tenn., at age 24, Ford served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before running unsuccessfully for Senate in 2006. The current chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, Ford was recently appointed visiting professor of public policy at Vanderbilt University where he will teach a class on American political leadership.
    My classmates and I met with Ford backstage before his talk and he kept calling me Mrs. WEST. Then, during his speech he thanked the School, the Dean, Patrick Kennedy and Mrs. WEST. I was embarrassed but it was really funny. Sanford did a great job introducing Ford and I got Sanford's autograph afterwards so that I can prove that 'I knew him when.' Meeting Sanford's parents was the highlight of the day.

    September 18: Presidential Power in a Time of Crisis
    John Yoo, author of the 'torture memos'

    One of the leading conservative foreign policy minds in the country, John Yoo is a law professor at the University of California, Berkley, and visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. As a deputy assistant to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft from 2001 to 2003, Yoo authored a number of legal memos arguing for unlimited presidential powers to order torture of captive suspects. Often called the "torture memos," these documents shaped Bush Administration policy for interrogating prisoners in the War on Terror and made arguments to protect officials from war crimes charges under the Geneva Conventions. A key contributor to the USA Patriot Act, Yoo is the author of several articles and books on foreign affairs, including War by Other Means: An Insider's Account of the War on Terrorism (2006).
    My classmates and I also attended a student session with Yoo at the Law School. We were all so frustrated that he would not in any way admit the impact of his opinion on the course of history. He would not even discuss the complexity of the situation.

    September 17: Celebrating the Untold Stories of African American Scientists
    Diane Jordan, author of Sisters in Science
    A professor of biology at Alabama State University, Diane Jordan interviewed prominent African American women scientists for her book, Sisters in Science: Conversations with Black Women Scientists on Race, Gender and Their Passion for Science. Jordan studied at Tuskegee University, Alabama A & M University and Michigan State University, earning her Ph.D. in Environmental Soil Microbiology. I had the privelege of introducing Diann. Funny how you get nervous in front of the hometown crowd but not in front of a national audience. It was her birthday and her sister was travelling with her. It was fun to watch them tease each other. Afterwards, Dr. Standerfer and I took them to dinner-fun!

    September 19: Dropping the Atomic Bomb
    Dutch Van Kirk, “Enola Gay” navigator
    Dutch Van Kirk was the navigator aboard the “Enola Gay” when it dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. He is a former U.S. Army Air Corps navigator who flew 58 B-17 Flying Fortress missions with the 97th Bomb Group over Occupied France and Germany during World War II.

    OPPORTUNITIES I MISSED THIS MONTH:
    September 13: Just Do It: Empowering Youth Today
    Chad Boettcher, director of corporate responsibility for Nike

    September 25: The Tavis Smiley Show -Presented by KUAR Radio and the Clinton School
    September 26: Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later -Presented by HBO and the Clinton School
    September 27: The Preacher and the Presidents, a biography of Billy Graham
    -Author Michael Duffy

1 Comment:

  1. Anonymous said...

Post a Comment