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Twenty-two Robertson Scholars from the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Duke University recently dedicated a day of service in the Mississippi Delta in her honor of Josie Robertson, who died this past year. The Robertson Scholars Program was created in 2000 through a $24 million gift from Julian Robertson, a 1955 graduate of UNC and his wife Josie. Inspired by their sons, one of whom graduated from Duke in 1998 and another who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2001, the Robertson’s wanted to encourage further collaboration between the two universities. The establishment of this innovative program, which recruits and supports undergraduates on both campuses, was designed to serve as a catalyst for increased collaboration between students, faculty, and staff of the two universities.
The Scholars are engaged in summer internships in four locations: Appalachian Kentucky, New Orleans, Atlanta, and the Mississippi Delta.
They converged on Cleveland to sort through thousands of books that have been sent to the Delta by the Harry Potter Alliance to be distributed through charities across the Delta. They were assisted in this Herculean task by students of the Sunflower County Freedom Project, and the service activities were coordinated by Jessica Broadus and Tori Wilmarth, the two Robertson Scholars who are interning in the Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning this summer.
Following their day of service, the group was given a Delta Heritage tour lead by Delta Center staff, which included stops at Dockery Farms, the grave of Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, and historic Mound Bayou.
During the tour they talked about the Delta’s agricultural heritage and its rightful claim to being the birthplace of both the Blues and Rock ‘n’ Roll. The Scholars also visited Po’ Monkey’s Lounge, hosted a potluck dinner for the Greenville Renaissance Scholars, ate a lot of Mississippi Delta catfish, and spent a night dancing to the Blues at Red’ Lounge in Clarksdale. |
