Celebrate TKAM with us

Jim Noles, AHF vice chairman

Dear Friends of the Alabama Humanities Foundation:

I have to admit—even after four years on the board of directors of the Alabama Humanities Foundation, I still struggled with how to define “humanities.” And, as you can imagine, that struggle, at times, challenged me in my role as the head of the Foundation's development committee. After all, how do you convince someone to donate to a cause that you yourself struggle to articulate?

For the longest time, I defined the humanities as those fields of exertion and accomplishment that define our own humanity—literature, language, art, history, philosophy, drama, ethics and the like. In many ways, that definition seemed to raise as many questions as it answered, or at least beg for further definition.

Recently, however, I've settled on a new definition of the humanities. To me, the humanities are those fields of endeavor that, through the various unique opportunities for contemplation and education that each of those fields represent, tell the story of what it means, and what it should mean, to be human. In short, the humanities are, at their heart, storytelling.

Thus, it is particularly appropriate that, this spring, the Foundation has taken on the task of helping Alabama celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird , authored by Alabama's own Nelle Harper Lee. There are few books in America—indeed, in the world—that tell a story better than To Kill a Mockingbird . There are even fewer that leave their reader more inspired to be a better human than Ms. Lee's novel.

In April and May, the Foundation, supported by generous sponsors and selfless artists, and guided by a hard-working steering committee from both within and without the Foundation, will hold events in Birmingham and Montgomery commemorating this historic anniversary. We're calling it “TKAM 2010: To Kill a Mockingbird — Awakening America's Conscience.” For details, visit www.ahf.net/mockingbird .

TKAM 2010 will culminate in a remarkable reception in Montgomery on May 22. Space precludes me from going into specific details about TKAM 2010, but if you want to bid on art by nationally known artists inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird , meet Mary Badham (who played Scout in the film version of the novel), enjoy a sneak peek at the documentary Our Mockingbird , rub shoulders with some of Alabama's Pulitzer Prize winners, enjoy original music composed specifically for this event, all the while sampling terrific food and drink, then this is an opportunity not to be missed. Again, visit www.ahf.net/mockingbird for more details. I hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Jim Noles
Vice Chairman,
Board of Directors, Alabama Humanities Foundation