Judge Myron H. Thompson Speaks as a 2017 Alabama Humanities Fellow

The Alabama Humanities Foundation unveiled its new concept for the annual awards event held each fall, and reviews of the Oct. 2 Alabama Colloquium have been overwhelmingly positive. It was an opportunity to showcase noted figures with Alabama ties and to let them be themselves in a candid, lively and provocative discussion about life and humanities issues.

 

CNN’s Emmy-winning Kamau Bell, business executive and historic novelist Nimrod T. Frazer, best-selling author Cassandra King and United States District Judge Myron Thompson took the stage in front of a crowd of more than three hundred at The Club with moderator Michel Martin, host of National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.

 

And what followed was historic. The Fellows – an all-star cast with Alabama ties – engaged in a live conversation about issues of the day and the impact those Alabama ties had on their lives, their careers and their perspectives. Martin called it a conversation that was both “timely and timeless.”

 

They spoke of race. They joked about decisions that ultimately shaped their lives. They talked about the good and bad of Alabama. And they looked to the future and what they would like to see for their state, for the nation and for humanity.

 

In addition to the four Fellows in the inaugural class, all past Alabama Humanities Award winners – living and deceased – were inducted as a group into the Alabama Humanities Fellows.