Reed Is Scheduled To Speak At Ole Miss On Sept. 29
Dottie Reed
UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI – Celebrated author, columnist, academic, businesswoman and 1974 University of Mississippi (UM) alumna Dorothy Quaye Chapman Reed will present a talk entitled, “Coming Full Circle: My Journey through the University of Mississippi, to Many Points Beyond and Back.” The talk is scheduled on Sept. 29 at noon in UM’s Department of Archives & Special Collections (third floor, JD Williams).
Reed is a Water Valley native and 1970 graduate of Davidson High School. In her own words, Reed was “only three years old when Emmett Till was killed in neighboring Tallahatchie County, I was 10 when James Meredith attempted to enroll at the University. Stores in my hometown would not allow us to sit on the stools to enjoy an ice cream cone or have a cold drink…fortunately, black men and women in my community taught us how to cope in this environment and strive for equality.”
As a part of the 60th Anniversary of Integration on the University of Mississippi’s campus, Chapman Reed’s presentation will not only focus on her early life in Water Valley, but her time at the University of Mississippi after its integration, as well as her travels back to the campus in the years following to work on such collaborative work as the “Black Families of Yalobusha County” oral history project with the University’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture.
“The Department of Archives and Special Collections is deeply honored to have such an illustrious speaker participate in the department’s programming for this historic commemoration. Special Collections is also greatly indebted to Ms. Chapman Reed for the donation of her significant archival collection to the archive,” said Greg Johnson, Head of Special Collections, Blues Curator, and Professor.
An exhibit of selected items from Reed’s collection will be on display during the fall semester. The event is hosted by the University of Mississippi Libraries and the University’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture.
