MTSU audience discusses ‘fear of knowledge,’ classroom censors and the South with award-winning author

An audience member listens carefully after asking a question of National Book Award-winning scholar Imani Perry, left, during Perry's Feb. 9 public lecture at Middle Tennessee State University. Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and an interdisciplinary scholar of race, law, literature and African American culture, is the author of “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation,

Could the censorship and denial of American history currently rolling across U.S. communities be caused by fear of white children seeing, identifying with and empathizing with “others” and ultimately standing with and for them?

A Middle Tennessee State University audience discussing the subject with National Book Award winner and scholar Imani Perry Feb. 9 seems to think so.

Dr. Imani Perry, Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and Feb. 9 guest speaker for MTSU's Black History Month Observance — Dr. Imani Perry

That “fear of knowledge” has been the impetus for angry school board meetings, “banned books” lists presented to libraries and threats of teacher firings — and felony prosecution — for using what opponents claim are “pornographic materials” in their classrooms.

The result has been angry parents, tearful children and another media firestorm about teaching Black, LBGTQ+, indigenous and other people’s roles in American history.

“Hearing that white children will feel bullied, will feel badly about themselves by learning about history other than theirs directly, it’s … well, it’s sad, because you’re saying that white children have no empathy or love for others,” said Perry, author of “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation” and an interdisciplinary scholar of race, law, literature and African American culture at Princeton University.

“It’s such a terrible thought because it presumes white children won’t identify with Black people and people of color. It presumes cutting off the moral imagination of white children so that they can’t imagine themselves as being any kind of actor in history — that they can’t see themselves in Frederick Douglass; they can only imagine themselves as the slave-breaker (Edward) Covey. We, none of us, are bound by our genealogy. We’re bound by our values.”

Perry’s midday talk in the university’s Student Union, part of MTSU’s 2023 Black History Month celebration, drew an appreciative, diverse and near standing-room-only crowd of almost 200 students, faculty, staff and MTSU neighbors.

“South to America,” her fifth book, received the National Book Award for Nonfiction last November. In it, the professor traveled across the South, using historic sites and events to examine the region’s history, culture and people and their impact on all of America.

National Book Award-winning scholar Imani Perry makes a point while discussing how the South's people and cultures have influenced the nation during her Feb. 9 public lecture at Middle Tennessee State University. Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and an interdisciplinary scholar of race, law, literature and African American culture, is the author of “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation," the cover of which is displayed on the screen behind her. Her talk was a part of MTSU's observance of Black History Month. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli) — National Book Award-winning scholar Imani Perry makes a point while discussing how the South’s people and cultures have influenced the nation during her Feb. 9 public lecture at Middle Tennessee State University. Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and an interdisciplinary scholar of race, law, literature and African American culture, is the author of “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation,” the cover of which is displayed on the screen behind her. Her talk was a part of MTSU’s observance of Black History Month. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

A native of Alabama who also lived in Chicago, Milwaukee and Cambridge, Massachusetts, Perry earned her undergraduate American studies and literature degree at Yale, then received both her American civilization doctorate and her law degree from Harvard.

‘Take responsibility … for our own education’

The wide-ranging MTSU discussion touched on how the South’s culture has racially unifying elements in its labor, its poverty, its music and even its food, along with how white people can become better allies by hearing what their neighbors, family and friends of color are saying, asking questions and listening to the answers.

She also recalled the death-defying efforts of enslaved people who learned to read and taught others in secret before Emancipation, noting that the “brush arbors” they used for their lessons can be a role model today for parents and children determined to learn the basic history and critical facts that politicians want to pull out of their classrooms.

“It’s really important for us to take responsibility in our own hands for our own education,” said the former law professor, who taught critical race theory to her law students. ”Choosing to build forms of knowledge and community, outside what the law says, is actually a precursor to changing the world.”

Perry’s visit was part of the College of Media and Entertainment’s Tom T. Hall Writers Series of lectures. It also was sponsored by the college’s John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies and by MTSU’s Center for Fairness, Justice and Equity in the College of Education.

The Tom T. Hall Writers Series celebrates songwriters, authors, poets and screenwriters and offers students, faculty, staff and the public a chance to learn more about the creative process as well as the business end of success.

Along with Perry’s talk, MTSU’s Black History Month schedule includes films, awards presentations, fashion, music, panel discussions, the 27th annual Unity Luncheon, a talk with famed philosopher Cornel West and a keynote address from author, activist and educator Ilyasah Shabazz.

A complete calendar of Black History Month 2023 events at MTSU is available at https://bit.ly/MTBlackHistory2023Calendar. More information on this year’s schedule is available at www.mtsu.edu/aahm.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)

National Book Award-winning scholar Imani Perry gestures while responding to an audience member during Perry’s Feb. 9 public lecture at Middle Tennessee State University. Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and an interdisciplinary scholar of race, law, literature and African American culture, is the author of “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation,” discussed how the South’s people and cultures have influenced the nation with an appreciative, diverse and near standing-room-only crowd of almost 200 students, faculty, staff and MTSU neighbors. Her talk was a part of MTSU’s observance of Black History Month. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

‘Lyrical’ National Book Award winner travels ‘South to America’ for MTSU visit

published Feb. 3, 2023

National Book Award-winning scholar Imani Perry will discuss how one region’s people and cultures have influenced a nation when she travels “South to America” to visit Middle Tennessee State University Thursday, Feb. 9.

Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and an interdisciplinary scholar of race, law, literature and African American culture, is set to speak at 11:20 a.m. Feb. 9 in the ballroom of MTSU’s Student Union, 1768 MTSU Blvd.

The free public event is part of the university’s 2023 Black History Month celebration.

An MTSU parking map is available at https://bit.ly/MTSUParking. Off-campus guests can get a one-day permit at https://mtsu.edu/parking/visit.php or park free in the university’s Rutherford Boulevard Lot and ride the Raider Xpress shuttle to the Student Union.

Perry’s 2022 book, “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation,” received the National Book Award for Nonfiction last November. It chronicles her visits to more than a dozen cities in the South to examine the region’s history, culture and people and their impact on all of America.

She told the New York Times in 2011 that her Black heritage wasn’t the sole catalyst for her academic focus. Instead, a childhood spent amid an abundance of American people, places and cultures in different regions made her more aware, and more curious, about all races.

“I was also exposed to people from different walks of life: intellectuals, activists, visual artists, musicians, expatriates and everyday working folk. I was a ‘cradle Catholic’ but raised among Jewish people, Quakers, Buddhists, people who joined various Hindi sects,” Perry explained.

National Book Award-winning scholar Imani Perry will discuss how one region’s people and cultures have influenced a nation when she visits Middle Tennessee State University Thursday, Feb. 9, for a public lecture. Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and an interdisciplinary scholar of race, law, literature and African American culture, is the author of “South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation.” Her talk is part of MTSU’s observance of Black History Month. (publicity photo by Sameer Khan)

“In the midst of this gorgeous mélange, I recognized that ‘race’ affected all the environments and people I encountered. And I wanted to understand why. I was drawn to explore both the terrible and the beautiful things about race.”

For “South to America,” the professor traveled across the South, using historic sites and events to prompt anecdotes and share personal experiences in what many critics have praised as “lyrical” and “lush” prose.

Part of Tom T. Hall Writers Series

In accepting her National Book Award, Perry, the author of five books and an NAACP Image Award nominee for literature, explained what guides her writing.

“I write for my people,” she said. “I write because we, children of the lash-scarred, rope choked, bullet-ridden, desecrated are still here, standing. I write for the field holler, the shout, the growl, the singer, the signer and the signified. I write for the sinned against and the sanctifying. I write for the ones who clean the toilets and till the soil and walk the picket lines. For the hungry, the caged, the disregarded, the holding on. I write for you. I write because I love sentences and I love freedom more.”

Her other titles include “Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry” and “Breathe: A Letter to My Sons.”

Autographed copies of “South to America” will be available for purchase during the lecture.

Perry’s visit is part of the College of Media and Entertainment’s Tom T. Hall Writers Series of lectures. It’s also sponsored by the college’s John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies and by MTSU’s Center for Fairness, Justice and Equity in the College of Education.

Previous Hall Writers Series guests have included indie-rock artist and MTSU alumna Julien Baker, country superstar Vince Gill, “Ya-Ya Sisterhood” trilogy author Rebecca Wells, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham, and author and music critic Peter Guralnick.

A complete calendar of Black History Month 2023 events at MTSU is available below. More information on this year’s schedule is available at www.mtsu.edu/aahm.

— Gina E. Fann (gina.fann@mtsu.edu)