Without Sanctuary Conference Considers Lynchings and Their Lasting Impact

October 9, 2012
Categories: College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences, Community Engagement
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Blue on white VERTICAL 1UNC Charlotte’s Center for the Study of the New South on Oct. 11-13 will host “Without Sanctuary: A Conference on Lynching and the American South,” in conjunction with the Levine Museum of the New South and its exhibit of photographs, postcards and narrative that explores one of the most horrific chapters of history.

The “Without Sanctuary” exhibit documents hangings and other killings carried out by lynch mobs in what often became community events. The collection will be on display at the Levine Museum from Sept. 29 through Dec. 31, 2012.

The conference will bring together scholars and community members who will consider these historical images and events and their influence that continues in modern times. Various sessions are scheduled at UNC Charlotte Center City, 320 E. 9th Street; the Levine Museum of the New South, 200 E. 7th Street; and First United Presbyterian Church, 406 N. College Street.

A cornerstone event is a free public talk on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at First United Presbyterian Church by Indiana University history Professor Claude A. Clegg III.  Clegg will reflect upon a lynching in his hometown of Salisbury that is considered in his book, Troubled Ground: A Tale of Murder, Lynching and Reckoning in the New South. The conference also will feature two panels on Oct. 13 at 10 a.m. at the Levine Museum, with members of families of lynching victims and of those who committed the crimes.

While the evening lecture on Oct. 11 is free, registration for the full conference is $25 for faculty, staff professionals and the public and $15 for students. One-day registration is $10. In addition to Clegg, other noted speakers include UNC Charlotte faculty, Fitzhugh Brundage of UNC Chapel Hill, Amy Wood of Illinois State University and Manfred Berg of University of Heidelberg, Germany.

The North Carolina Humanities Council, the UNC Charlotte Chancellor’s Diversity Challenge Fund and the Levine Museum are providing support. The Center is part of UNC Charlotte’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.  It promotes discourse and dialogue on a rich and diverse constellation of topics and ideas relating to the New South, the period of regional history from the end of the Civil War to the modern era. Information about the conference and a registration form are available on the conference website.

Information about the “Without Sanctuary” exhibit is available on the Levine Museum website.