Martin England, Clarence Jordan and the Koinonia Celebration
Had a wonderful two days in Americus Georgia and headed home now. Was down for the 70th Anniversary Celebration of the Founding of Koinonia Farms. Google the Celebration site for the full list of folks presenting there.
Had a brief chat with President Carter Friday night, then sat in the Rylander Theatre in Americus for the Al Stagss impersonation of Clarence Jordan and Tom Keys doing a magnificent one man show of his now 20 year and counting Cotton Patch Gospels. Quite a feat for a 62 year old man--native of Vestavia Hills, Alabama--going full throttle, no intermission for 85 minutes or more.
On Saturday heard a woman from Asheville, N.C. who wrote a 79 piece for Sojourners mag on Koinonia Farms. Heard Sam Mahone talk about the Civil Rights events of 63 in Americus. One of my writing heros Charles Marsh talked about some of the lesser known history of The Farm. Met his Mom and Dad that afternoon in a workshop with bout ten people in the room. Marsh's good friend, Dolphus Weary, the director of Mission Mississippi was the presenter. I asked a question about Charles Pickering , Prez Bush 43 Judicial nominee--now with Reagan operative Allan Sears and the Alliance Defending Freedom Group-- on the the uses of faith to bend power. Both the presenter and Charles Marsh Dad Robert inflected the response.
Robert Marsh in the mid 70's was pastor of the 2nd Ponce De Leon Church in Atlanta. So that church can claim as products two major chroniclers, analysts of America's Civil Rights struggle; the Pulitzer Prize winning author of the trilogy on MLking and the CR movement, Taylor Branch; and Charles Marsh. In God's Long Summer Marsh interviews Sam Bowers, the man on whom the evil Klan genius of Missisippi Burning was based.
A 2008 Furman grad was there working on her dissertation at Vanderbilt. She is focussing on the Americus episode of 63. It was an honor to meet and take a picture for Facebook with some friends from Collinsville, and a friend representing Jim Pitts of Smyth and Helwys.
And had great conversation among many others with some folks from Maryville, Tn where my Grandfather Fox extended family was a mainstay in the United Methodist Church there in 50's and 60's
Had a brief chat with President Carter Friday night, then sat in the Rylander Theatre in Americus for the Al Stagss impersonation of Clarence Jordan and Tom Keys doing a magnificent one man show of his now 20 year and counting Cotton Patch Gospels. Quite a feat for a 62 year old man--native of Vestavia Hills, Alabama--going full throttle, no intermission for 85 minutes or more.
On Saturday heard a woman from Asheville, N.C. who wrote a 79 piece for Sojourners mag on Koinonia Farms. Heard Sam Mahone talk about the Civil Rights events of 63 in Americus. One of my writing heros Charles Marsh talked about some of the lesser known history of The Farm. Met his Mom and Dad that afternoon in a workshop with bout ten people in the room. Marsh's good friend, Dolphus Weary, the director of Mission Mississippi was the presenter. I asked a question about Charles Pickering , Prez Bush 43 Judicial nominee--now with Reagan operative Allan Sears and the Alliance Defending Freedom Group-- on the the uses of faith to bend power. Both the presenter and Charles Marsh Dad Robert inflected the response.
Robert Marsh in the mid 70's was pastor of the 2nd Ponce De Leon Church in Atlanta. So that church can claim as products two major chroniclers, analysts of America's Civil Rights struggle; the Pulitzer Prize winning author of the trilogy on MLking and the CR movement, Taylor Branch; and Charles Marsh. In God's Long Summer Marsh interviews Sam Bowers, the man on whom the evil Klan genius of Missisippi Burning was based.
A 2008 Furman grad was there working on her dissertation at Vanderbilt. She is focussing on the Americus episode of 63. It was an honor to meet and take a picture for Facebook with some friends from Collinsville, and a friend representing Jim Pitts of Smyth and Helwys.
And had great conversation among many others with some folks from Maryville, Tn where my Grandfather Fox extended family was a mainstay in the United Methodist Church there in 50's and 60's
posted by foxofbama | 11:27 AM
1 Comments:
Americus Timeline: George Wallace at the Country Club in 64; Robert Penn Warren at GSW in 65; Maddox leads a KKK march in 66 and Warren Fortson article in Look mag by Marshall Frady published in 71, right before
GA US Senator Richard Russell funeral in Winder.
http://www.sumtercountyhistory.com/history/1962_2005.htm
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