Jackson Free Press

The sign at the New Village Bar and Grill Road read "Welcome Pres. Clinton Parking $10.00." Parking was indeed a premium, so many people parked near I-55 and trekked up West County Line Road. The marchers were taking part in the rhythm of the morning as hundreds of people arrived at campus to listen to a "heart-to-heart" speech from a man many of them admire greatly.

Humming cars, clanking heels of pedestrians and the occasional curt blur of a siren created a three-part harmony as security attempted to direct traffic that resulted when most of Jackson seemed to try to fit into the narrow gates of Tougaloo College for the 2003 Commencement Exercises. Once on the lawn of the newly restored Woodworth Chapel, the crowd moved to the steady beat of ceremonial drums. Among the proud family and friends of graduates were thousands of Jacksonians beaming with anticipation for the arrival of former President William Jefferson Clinton, the commencement speaker. As a long-time friend of President Beverly Hogan, Tougaloo College and an advocate of HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), Clinton waived his normal $250,000 fee to speak at Tougaloo.

Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and Mayor Harvey Johnson welcomed Clinton to the state of Mississippi and the city of Jackson. "You come now as a visitor but from here on out you come as family," said Johnson as he presented Clinton with a key to the city. Charles Lawrence, Student Government Association president, gave greetings from the class of 2003 to the president. In his speech Lawrence provided a disclaimer saying, "To our current president I would like to say that we did not choose President Clinton as commencement speaker as a result of affirmative action; it was solely because of his merits."

Clinton started by thanking Tougaloo College for extending an invitation to him and an invitation to America for 134 years. This invitation, he said, "has not been fully accepted in the past but America has come a long way thanks to Tougaloo." Clinton thanked audience members who had supported him when, as he put it, "only my mama thought I could be elected president." To the class of 2003, Clinton said they should "do well but also do good; give back to the community that has served you so well so far."

The former president addressed some of the problems facing America today, saying that though he supported President Bush's efforts overseas it is important to make sure we are safe and prosperous at home. Clinton pointed to the Bush tax cuts, IRS enforcement patterns and fear of terrorism as major problems. "I don't understand how people like myself who America has been good to get a tax break," he said. He added that low-income families would be hit hard by the loss of after-school programs and other education benefits for under-privileged youths.

Clinton urged President Hogan to ask Sen. Lott for money. "He said he would spend the rest of his life making up for that (Strom Thurmond) mistake, so give him the chance to do that," Clinton said. Clinton closed by encouraging the class of 2003 to continue to be the "21st-century foot soldiers of the American dream," remembering to help the least of their brethren.

Previous Comments

ID

63925

Comment

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/paulgreenberg/pg20030530.shtml http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,88691,00.html

Author

The Anti-SidB

Date

2003-06-06T13:08:54-06:00

ID

63926

Comment

Funny that Greenberg doesn't capitalize "faulknerian." Maybe it's a typo. That also reminds me of a kinda goofy piece by Tim Rutton in the L.A. Times that the C-L ran last Sunday. It's about the whole Blair-NY Times scandal, but near the end he said that Rick Bragg "enjoys a considerable following among fans of a certain kind of earthy, faux-Faulknerian prose...." Faux-Faulknerian? What on earth is this man talking about? Of course, I think that often reading or hearing much in the "balanced" mainstream media this days.

Author

ladd

Date

2003-06-06T13:27:02-06:00

ID

63927

Comment

Whatever they mean, it's not a compliment--in the literary criticism world, faulknerian and faux-faulknerian are words indicating overwritten and undiagrammable prose--faulknerian means it's done well, and faux-faulknerian means it isn't. (Re: the Faux Faulkner contest at Ole Miss every year).

Author

JW

Date

2003-06-09T08:39:59-06:00

ID

63928

Comment

JW, I know well how they're meant, I believe including Greenberg's reference, and it's not positive. My point is that "faulknerian" has been become a hackneyed descriptor signifying little other than "Southern." It's often used by non-Southern journalists to disparage non-fiction writers like Bragg, whom I certainly would never argue is "undiagrammable" (as if that should be the only goal of writing anyway). "Folksy" is another way my Columbia peers often described pretty much anything written by a Southern writer, regardless of the writer's actual style and voice. As I say in my writing classes, good writing comes in many forms, and if it all strives for the same voice, you end up with a pretty dull mass of words on the page. Quite honestly, I've found that a lot of writers are quite jealous of the inborn skills that a writer like Bragg displays. For instance, I heard a Columbia prof (whose writing puts me to sleep) describe Bragg's memoir about his mother once as "Mama this, Mama that": that type of bitter critique speaks miles, I'd say. I'm to the point that if I see "Faulknerian" or "folksy" used in a critique, I just stop reading.

Author

ladd

Date

2003-06-09T11:24:20-06:00