Panel discussion on life of special LaGrange native | Events

TROUP COUNTY, GA - The Historic Chattahoochee Commission (HCC), Troup County Historical Society (TCHS), and LaGrange College invite the public to a special panel discussion focusing on the life and legacy of LaGrange native and celebrated historian Dr. U.B. Phillips.

Dr. John David Smith, Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, is the featured speaker in a symposium about Phillips’ life and remarkable legacy. 

The program, entitled “Dr. U.B. Phillips: A LaGrange Native Shapes America’s Understanding of Slavery,” will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Nov. 8 in Callaway Auditorium on the campus of LaGrange College. 

This event is made possible free of charge to the public through the generous support of the Georgia Humanities Council. RSVP’s are requested by calling 706-884-1828.

Phillips, regarded by many as the first major historian of American slavery, was for much of the early twentieth century the nation’s foremost historian of the South. During his career he taught at the University of Wisconsin, Tulane University, the University of Michigan, and Yale University. His seminal work exploring the institution of slavery and its influence on the development of Southern society forced a new examination of the institution that influenced generations of scholars and framed public understanding of this difficult aspect of the nation’s past.

Dr. Smith is regarded as the leading authority on Phillips’ work, and has authored two books and numerous articles on his scholarship. He recently authored an in-depth introduction to a new edition of Phillips’ classic work, Life and Labor in the Old South, which will be available at the event. Other symposium panelists include Troup County historian Clark Johnson, TCHS director Kaye Minchew, HCC director Mike Bunn, and LaGrange College professor Dr. Lisa Crutchfield. For more information, call TCHS at 706-884-1828.