A stellar lineup of keynote speakers had committed to participate. We had
Brent Leggs
(pictured left)
, the Executive Director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, ready to kick-off the
Symposium
with the opening address, “Preserving America’s Culture of Civil Rights Activism.” The second day featured the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience with presentations by its cofounder,
Ruth Abram
(pictured below)
speaking on the subject, “Partnering with History to Improve the World,” and
Linda Norris
coordinating a roundtable discussion with affiliated civil rights movement sites about program collaborations. To wrap the
Symposium
up,
Destry Jarvis
, the vice president of the United States National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, planned to outline “A Congressional Strategy for Funding the U. S. Commitment to World Heritage.”
Following the Thursday and Friday programs, lovely receptions were to be provided by our sponsors
Lord Aeck Sargent, New South Associates,
and
Luckie,
with ample time for networking among the attendees. And we anticipated a large crowd. Even with the uncertainty leading up to the event, registration for the conference was strong. These included representatives from such historic civil rights movement sites as Central High School in Little Rock, the Greensboro Woolworth, Sixteenth Street and Bethel Baptist Churches in Birmingham, the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Most importantly were the people from the dozens of heritage places now listed on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail who planned to attend and other stewards of the African American freedom struggle.
