SWITCHYARD – Timothy Egan & Kevin Willmott
May 10 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Exposing the Ku Klux Klan in America
Join Switchyard at Mayfest for an evening of conversation between Timothy Egan, author of A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them, and Kevin Willmott, director and Academy Award-winning screenwriter for Spike Lee’s “Blackkklansman.” This event will take place on Friday, May 10, at 6:00pm at OKPOP Museum (422 North Main Street) with a book signing to follow.
You can purchase tickets for this individual event for $15 HERE.
This event is also included with the purchase of either VIP pass which you can buy HERE.
About A Fever in the Heartland:
The Roaring Twenties–the Jazz Age–has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson.
Stephenson was a magnetic presence whose life story changed with every telling. Within two years of his arrival in Indiana, he’d become the Grand Dragon of the state and the architect of the strategy that brought the group out of the shadows – their message endorsed from the pulpits of local churches, spread at family picnics and town celebrations. Judges, prosecutors, ministers, governors and senators across the country all proudly proclaimed their membership. But at the peak of his influence, it was a seemingly powerless woman – Madge Oberholtzer – who would reveal his secret cruelties, and whose deathbed testimony finally brought the Klan to their knees.
A Fever in the Heartland marries a propulsive drama to a powerful and page-turning reckoning with one of the darkest threads in American history.
About Switchyard at Mayfest:
The University of Tulsa (TU), in collaboration with Magic City Books, announces Switchyard at Mayfest, May 9-11 in the Tulsa Arts District. This festival within a festival convenes writers and musicians featured in the latest issue of the award-winning Switchyard magazine to examine, celebrate and reimagine the future of rural America. Switchyard at Mayfest includes six events over three days with 15 speakers, including bestselling authors Bill McKibben, Monica Potts, and Jeff Sharlet, among others. Tickets begin at $10.
“Every election cycle, rural America is oversimplified and reduced to a set of easy cliches,” reflected Switchyard magazine Editor and University of Tulsa Presidential Professor Ted Genoways. “This issue of Switchyard-and accompanying talks at this festival-are intended to present a richer, more complex version of multiple rural Americas.”
Switchyard at Mayfest complements the latest issue of the magazine to present a multifaceted view of rural America that captures the dynamics and intricacies of this under-covered and often misrepresented region. Award-winning journalist C.J. Janovy describes coming of age as a lesbian in Nebraska. New York Times bestselling author Monica Potts documents the shortage of in-home health workers in Upstate New York. Jeff Sharlet, a finalist for this year’s National Book Critics’ Circle Award, explains how the hippie communes of rural Vermont became havens for conspiracy theory and hate. Bill McKibben, considered the leading voice on climate change, writes about how farmers and ranchers across the Farm Belt are joining the climate fight.
The alignment of the Switchyard magazine issue launch with Mayfest is no accident. University of Tulsa President Brad R. Carson said he welcomes the opportunity to bring new content to Tulsa’s beloved Mayfest tradition.
“Art, music, and literature are the soul of society; they reflect our deepest emotions, challenge our perceptions, and inspire our greatest achievements. At The University of Tulsa, we believe in providing a platform for writers and artists to share their unique voices with the world,” said Carson. “By fostering these opportunities, we not only enrich our cultural landscape but also empower individuals to contribute to a diverse and vibrant tapestry of human experience.”
Switchyard at Mayfest tickets range in price from $10 to $20 per talk, per person. TU offers an all-event VIP pass for $100, which also includes access to VIP areas of Mayfest as well as tickets to two concerts at Cain’s Ballroom: Waxahatchee on Wednesday, May 8, and The Great Divide on Saturday, May 11. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit switchyardmag.com or tulsamayfest.org.
