Press release from Warren Wilson College:
The Warren Wilson College 2015-16 Spotlight Series begins Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. in Kittredge Theatre with speakers James Tyson, a 2007 graduate, and activist Bree Newsome. On June 27, 2015, Tyson and Newsome were arrested after participating in one of the most visible acts of civil disobedience in recent memory, the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina State House. The Spotlight Series is free and open to the public.
Long before Tyson and Newsome’s efforts, the Confederate battle flag’s presence at the center of the state’s government was divisive. The sentiment was amplified in June 2015 following the deaths of nine black Charleston churchgoers at the hands of a 21-year-old self-proclaimed racist. The murderer was later seen posing with the contentious flag in photos accompanying his hate-filled manifesto.
Tyson, reminiscing about the planning involved to remove the flag, said, “We all knew that it would be a symbolic act. We created it to be a symbolic act, to be a symbolic victory over racism.”
Tyson says the years at Warren Wilson helped shape the person he has become. “The drive that Wilson has toward diversity is something that is absolutely critical,” he said. “We have to get over all of the stereotypes that we’ve been dealing with, and we have to create the most open, equitable society. We have to create the world that we want.”
Tyson said the planning was thorough, and his role was to be the spotter for the person climbing the pole.
“Once Bree volunteered, we knew that we had something that was really important. We had a black woman climbing the pole. A black woman that has gotten it the worst from racism through time, one of the least privileged members of our society in terms of white supremacy, and then a white male,” he said, referring to himself. “Those two images juxtaposed against each other were part of the reason we did it the way we did.”
Upon retrieving the flag, both Tyson and Newsome were arrested and charged with defacing a monument. Despite being immediately returned to its position atop the pole next to a Confederate memorial, the flag would not stay there for long. Nearly two weeks later, in an early morning 94 to 20 vote, the South Carolina House of Representatives approved a bill that led to the permanent removal of the Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the State House.
The 2015-16 Spotlight Series is titled “My America, Whose America” and presents an opportunity for the community to connect with award-winning thought leaders and social justice activists. For the first time, the annual Harwood-Cole Memorial Lecture joins the Spotlight Series to present Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo Nov. 14. Rounding out the series Feb. 20, the College will host The Soul of the Activist symposium featuring Mandy Carter, the 2016 activist-in-residence, alongside religion and culture intellectuals.
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