Summer Hostel features John Seigenthaler, Nashville's own history-making journalist

Seigenthaler spoke on “Personal Memories of the Civil Rights Movement.” He reflected upon days in Nashville when racial inequalities were the norm. He told the audience that he vividly remembers riding city buses on late afternoons with his mother in the 1950s.

"I can't tell you how many times I got on a bus late in the afternoon and saw African American women come on board who had worked all day as a domestic servant for white families. They struggled to the back of the bus. I sat there and never truly saw them. I wonder now where my mind was, where my heart was, where my eyes were," Seigenthaler said as he shared with the audience his memories of the changes that took place in Nashville and across the nation as students stood up for justice under the law.

In the 1960s, Seigenthaler served in the U.S. Justice Department as administrative assistant to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and his work led to his role as chief negotiator with the governor of Alabama during the Freedom Rides.

He will be joined by other speakers during the week-long Summer Hostel who will also share memories of the civil rights movement. Prentice Meador (’60), the Batsell Barrett Baxter Chair of Preaching at Lipscomb University, will share experiences during his time teaching communications at UCLA during the 1965 “Watts Riots.” Ethel Crowder (’73) and Mary Carr will also share their experiences.

The 22-year-old Summer Hostel program provides a week-long opportunity for Lipscomb alumni to socialize, experience and learn. In addition to hearing eye-witness accounts of the civil rights movement, this year’s participants will learn how to create a personal history and family narrative, take field trips and enjoy theme dinners and movie nights. Paul Nance (’81) will lead devotionals throughout the week based on episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show.”

The aging of the baby boomers has spurred yet another lifestyle trend in America today – the growing popularity of creating a personal history, whether scrapbook, video or biography. From informal church classes on writing spiritual biographies to personal histories and commissions attached to wills, baby boomers across the nation are taking the time to write down their stories. Personal historians are a thriving trade, and family videos and Websites are common.

Ed Gleaves (’58), previously the Tennessee state librarian and archivist for 18 years, will help participants with the nuts and bolts of identifying, gathering and organizing the materials needed to construct a family history, develop a family archive and write a family narrative. LaDonna Dugger, an eight-year Creative Memories consultant, will also instruct in creative presentation.

The cost for this year’s Hostel is $350 for boarding students and $300 for day students. If you are interested in receiving information on future Summer Hostel programs, contact Amy Hamar in the Office of Alumni Relations at amy.hamar@lipscomb.edu or 615.966.6216.