I will be in Alabama this weekend, officiating at my niece’s wedding, and I am looking forward to visiting the Civil Rights Institute (http://www.bcri.org/) a large museum of the civil rights movement in Birmingham. This will be my first visit to the Deep South, and I notice that I carry all kinds of prejudices about that part of the country. One advantage of traveling is that it can be an opportunity to see beyond simple stereotypes of other parts of the world. I am curious about how I will respond to the South (my very liberal, Minnesota-born niece chose a plantation house for the wedding, and I notice that I have a few opinions about that) and especially what it will be like to visit the Civil Rights Institute. This feels like excellent preparation for my participation in a performance based on Sue Monk Kidd’s abolitionist novel, Invention of Wings, on June 5th (see below).
Sunday, June 5th, 7:30 pm Calaway Room
The award-winning novel Invention of Wings, by Sue Monk Kidd, draws from the lives of Sarah and Angelina Grimké, sisters from Charleston, South Carolina in the early part of the nineteenth century. Although the sisters grew up in a wealthy family that owned many slaves, as adults they became leading members of the anti-slavery movement. Ultimately, Angelina became one of the most powerful public speakers in the abolitionist movement. Florence and Dr. Sheron Dailey, Professor Emerita, Indiana State University, will present a performance and discussion based on Invention of Wings.