One of Durham's adopted all-time greats and his wife will get a fitting tribute on Thursday.
John Hope Franklin -- one of the twentieth century's intellectual giants, a pioneering historian who, as The Economist noted in their remembrance, sought to intertwine African-American history into the larger national context while never allowing the racial prejudices that came his way to make him less than what many described as an utterly gracious, giving man -- will be remembered at Duke along with the love of his life, his wife Aurelia, who predeceased him in 1999.
The celebration of their lives will feature speeches by former Pres. Bill Clinton and longtime Clinton advisor and Franklin friend Vernon Jordan.
Duke Pres. Richard Brodhead will also make remarks, as will a number of other members of academia within and outside Duke. Emerita university trustee and noted philanthropist Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans will also be among the distinguished speakers at Thursday's tribute, which begins at 11 am in the Duke Chapel.
After earning his bachelor's from Fisk and his master's and Ph.D. from Harvard, Franklin taught around the Triangle at St. Augustine's and NCCU before moving on to Howard, Brooklyn College, and finally the University of Chicago before moving to Duke in the early 1980s.
The remembrance service -- being held at Dr. Franklin's request in lieu of a memorial service, and timed for what would have been his and his wife's 69th wedding anniversary -- will be broadcast statewide on UNC-TV's North Carolina digital subchannel (ch. 204 on Time Warner) and at Duke's Ustream site.
Due to this event and others at the campus, traffic is expected to be heavy and parking scarce.
Great man. His book "From Slavery to Freedom" is an absolute gem in my eyes.
Posted by: Bass | June 11, 2009 at 09:41 AM