MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University representatives recently appeared on WGNS Radio to discuss a new exhibit by the Center for Historic Preservation, Constitution Week events on campus, and an upcoming screening of a music film featuring an alumnus.
They appeared on the live “Action Line” program with host Scott Walker broadcast on FM 100.5, 101.9 and AM 1450 from the WGNS studio in downtown Murfreesboro. If you missed it, you can listen to the three podcast segments of the Sept. 15 program by clicking on the appropriate links below.
Guests for the September program included:
• Laura Holder, federal liaison for the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area at MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation, and Kate Hughes, Ph.D. candidate and graduate research assistant with the CHP, discussed the center’s ongoing award-winning exhibit, “Two Families, Two Revolutions,” on display at the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County.
The CHP received an Award of Excellence from the Tennessee Association of Museums, or TAM, for its newest exhibit, which compares and contrasts the material lives of two Tennessee families — the Armstrongs and Gardners — who personified the spirit of the United States.
The Heritage Center display features handcrafted furniture the families acquired, books they read, handstitched quilts and textiles they produced, and the games and toys they provided for their children. Through these tangible tokens of daily life, the exhibit exemplifies the rich stories of these civic-minded and hardworking families from the time of Tennessee’s early statehood to the present day.
The exhibit, created as a lead-up to the 250th birthday of the United States in 2026, is on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, 225 W. College Street in downtown Murfreesboro. Admission is free and open to the public.
• Dr. Amy Sayward, history professor and coordinator of MTSU’s American Democracy Project chapter, discussed the university’s Constitution Day observance featuring keynote speaker David Brooks of The New York Times at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, in Tucker Theatre and traditional Constitution readings across campus.
Brooks, a contributor to the “PBS News Hour” and opinion columnist for The New York Times, will discuss the theme, “We the People: The Place of the U.S. Constitution in Students’ Everyday Spaces,” in a panel discussion led by MTSU students and hosted by the American Democracy Project at MTSU. The event is free and open to the public.
Free event parking is provided for visitors at the Reese Smith lot at Faulkinberry Drive and Champion Way, adjacent to Tucker Theatre, inside the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building, 615 Champion Way. The event will also be livestreamed.
MTSU also annually observes the U.S. Constitution’s 1787 signing with volunteers reading the living document in its entirety in several locations on campus throughout the week.
• Bill Steber, veteran photojournalist and MTSU alumnus, discussed the Thursday, Sept. 18, screening at MTSU of the music film “Deep Roots: The Art and Music of Bill Steber and Friends,” the latest feature-length music film directed by Robert Mugge and produced by Mugge with his partner Diana Zelman.
The film will be screened beginning at 6 p.m. Sept. 18 in Room 103 of the John Bragg Building, 1725 Blue Raider Drive. Following the screening, there will be a Q&A with Robert Mugge, Bill Steber and Ron Wynn.
The film is intended as a companion piece to Mugge’s 1991 film “Deep Blues,” which explored blues traditions of the Mississippi Delta and North Mississippi Hill Country. “Deep Roots” examines the life and work of artist, photographer, and musician Bill Steber, while showcasing Black and white musical traditions of the 1920s and 1930s, and rural music scenes of Mississippi and Tennessee.
The film’s first half takes place in Steber’s home base of Murfreesboro, and its second half in the Mississippi Delta, long a major focus of his work. The event is sponsored by the MTSU Department of Media Arts and the Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment.
Students, faculty and staff who are interested in guesting on WGNS to promote their MTSU-related activities should contact Jimmy Hart, senior director of MTSU News and Media Relations, at 615-898-5131 or via email at jimmy.hart@mtsu.edu.
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