Byington Lecture

Peter Guralnick signs a book for a Mercer student
Author Peter Guralnick signs a copy of his book after giving the 2018 Byington Lecture.

The Laurie Byington Lecture Series promotes an examination of the contemporary American South. Madge T. Byington established the series to honor her daughter, a 1992 graduate of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and former member of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Alumni Board of Directors, and to assist the University in bringing a distinguished expert, or recognized leader in his or her field or discipline, to the Macon campus to give an annual lecture. The lectures and other activities of the Center are supported by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Previous Byington Lectures

  • 2019 — Keisha N. Blain — Building a Movement: Black Women Organizing in the (Global) South
  • 2018 — Peter Guralnick — The Secret Language of Rhythm and Blues: The Music and the Movement
  • 2017 — Hank Klibanoff — Shot Dead in Macon: A Georgia Civil Rights Cold Case