Historic period's influence examined
The decade of the '60s was in many ways a watershed period in U.S. history, and its influence has been varied and far reaching. To explore and celebrate this legacy, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum and the LBJ School are sponsoring a public symposium that will bring together a distinguished group of actors and observers of the times.
The symposium will open on May 12 with a roundtable discussion by some of the reporters who covered President Johnson and some of the staff members who worked for him. Among the panelists will be Johnson White House press secretaries Bill Moyers and George Christian; Liz Carpenter, the First Lady's press secretary; Sidney Davis, former Washington bureau chief for NBC News; and Hugh Sidey, author of the Time magazine column "The Presidency."
The keynote address on May 13 will be given by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., a speechwriter for President Johnson. Others who will give addresses during the symposium are LBJ School Professor Elspeth Rostow and Joseph A. Califano, Jr., who served as President Johnson's top assistant for domestic affairs and later as President Carter's Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
Panel sessions on May 13-14 include "The Counter-Culture Movement: Its Effect on American Life Today," moderated by Sheldon Hackney, chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities; "Civil Rights--The Situation Now," moderated by Julian Bond, chair, NAACP National Board of Directors; "The Adventure in Space: Its Effect on Our Lives Today," moderated by Jim Hartz, a five-time Emmy Award winner and television producer and correspondent; and "LBJ 30 Years Later," a discussion from the perspective of historians who have written about him. The panel discussion on space also includes remarks by Walter Cronkite.
On Thursday evening, conference participants will be treated to entertainment from the 60s, which will include performances by Carol Channing, Gregory Peck, Peter Yarrow, and Van Cliburn. On Saturday the group will gather for "One More Hurrah," a barbecue and reunion hosted by Lady Bird Johnson.
A limited number of seats are available to the public for Thursday evening's event; for more information, call 512-478-7829, ext. 297. Saturday's barbecue is not open to the public.