MACON, Ga. — Professor of U.S. History at Northwestern University, Dr. Leslie Harris, will lead a series of lectures on the theme “African American History: Telling Stories in Many Forms” for Mercer University’s 68th annual Lamar Memorial Lecture Series, the most prominent lecture series on Southern history and culture in the U.S.
“The King Center is excited to bring Dr. Leslie Harris to Mercer University and Macon for this year’s Lamar Memorial Lecture Series,” said Dr. Doug Thompson, professor of history and director of the Spencer B. King Jr. Center for Southern Studies. “Dr. Harris has carved an amazing journey as a historian of public memory. From her work at Emory University that examined the role of slavery in the formation of the school to her more recent turn to examine genealogy as a way to retell stories that have been forgotten, Dr. Harris challenges us to follow multiple paths to retell a more truthful rendering of the past.”
Dr. Harris has focused on complicating the ideas we all hold about the history of African Americans in the United States and finding ways to communicate these new ideas to the general public. For her book Slavery and Freedom in Savannah, Dr. Harris was awarded the 2014 Leadership in History Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History. She also received the 2014 Award for Excellence in Documenting Georgia’s History from the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council and the 2015 Lilla M. Hawes Award for the best book in Georgia local or county history published in 2014 from the Georgia Historical Society.
The Lamar Lectures are presented by Mercer’s Spencer B. King Jr. Center for Southern Studies. They will take place Oct. 6 and 7 in the Presidents Dining Room, located inside the University Center on the Macon campus. They are free and open to the public.
Dr. Leslie Harris Lamar Lectures 2025 Schedule:
“Academic History”
10:10 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 6
“Public History”
6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6.
“Personal History”
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7
The Lamar Lecture Series, made possible through a bequest from the late Eugenia Dorothy Blount Lamar, began in 1957 and promotes the permanent preservation of Southern culture, history and literature. Speakers have included nationally and internationally known scholars, such as Cleanth Brooks, James C. Cobb, Trudier Harris, Fred Hobson, Eugene Genovese and Eric Sundquist. The University of Georgia Press publishes the lectures each year.
