2008 National Preservation Conference Speeches
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Wilma Mankiller - Opening Plenary Keynote Speaker
As a leader of the Cherokee people, Wilma Mankiller represented the second largest tribe in the United States. Chief Mankiller was the first female in modern history to lead a major Native American tribe. She has addressed community revitalization and rebuilding, the Native American experience in Oklahoma and the United States, and what it takes to rejuvenate a community and lead a nation to rebirth.
Opening Plenary Speaker Chief Wilma Mankiller
Dr. Bob Blackburn - Special Lecture "The Oklahoma Preservation Story"
Follow Bob L. Blackburn, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society and Oklahoma's SHPO, along the Trail of Tears, the All Black Towns, the land runs, and the twin booms of oil and agriculture that made Oklahoma the fastest growing state in the nation from 1907 to 1920. Dr. Blackburn is the author of 16 books, ranging from The History of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, written while he was still in graduate school, to The Centennial History of Oklahoma, released in 2007. A native of Oklahoma, Dr. Blackburn completed his PhD in History at Oklahoma State University.
"The Oklahoma Preservation Story" - Part 1
"The Oklahoma Preservation Story" - Part 2
Michael Wallis - Special Lecture "The Romance of the Mother Road:
Route 66"
Best-selling author Michael Wallis is the recognized authority on Route 66. Wallis has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize three times and was also nominated for the National Book Award. He has won several other prestigious awards and honors, including the Oklahoma Center for the Book Lifetime Achievement Award.
"The Romance of the Mother Road: Route 66" - Part 1
"The Romance of the Mother Road: Route 66" - Part 2
Nell Irvin Painter - Closing Plenary Speaker
Nell Irvin Painter, PhD was until recently the Edwards Professor of American History, Princeton University. A prolific and award-winning scholar, her most recent books are Southern History Across the Color Line and Creating Black Americans. She is known for books that question traditional notions of history by blending vivid narratives and artwork by African-American artists adding a new depth to the understanding of black history. Dr. Painter offers a history written for a new generation of African Americans, from life in Africa before slavery to today's hip-hop culture. Dr. Painter is president of the Organization of American Historians. She has two new books in the work, The History of White People and Personal Beauty: Biology or Culture?
Note: A week before Dr. Painter’s moving Key Note address, Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor hosted the debut in Tulsa of the documentary film “Before They Die”, with an audience of 2,000 people, including 20 survivors of the Tulsa Race Riot. Oklahoma has also completed design and funding for a permanent memorial park to mark the travesty in the Greenwood neighborhood that was decimated. The memorial will be named in honor of Dr. John Hope Franklin, who graduated from high school in Tulsa. It will include a 20 foot sculpture that depicts “hostility, humiliation and hope” with three figures depicting real people seen in photographs taken during and after the race riot. The Center is the result of the work of the state Reconciliation Commission and multi-million dollar fundraising, with the City of Tulsa providing the final funds.
Closing Plenary Speaker Nell Irvin Painter
Anthony M. Tung - Closing Plenary Speaker
Author and urbanist Anthony M. Tung has been a New York City Landmarks Preservation Commissioner, an instructor on architectural history at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a visiting professor on international urban preservation at MIT. His first book, Preserving The World’s Great Cities: The Destruction and Renewal of the Historic Metropolis, is a detailed socio-cultural portrait of preservation efforts in 18 cities across the globe. He will discuss the outstanding characteristics and successful strategies of these 18 cities and offer his perspective on Tulsa’s potential.
Closing Plenary Speaker Tony Tung
Closing Plenary Discussion - Nell Irvin Painter and Tony Tung
