Favorite Speaker You’ve Seen

Memphis State University had a great speakers bureau. Davis-Kidd booksellers in Nashville was another source of seeing great minds in the wild. Vanderbilt University still has a lot to offer.

Richard Leakey was more enjoyable than he should have been. He took it in stride when the promotional poster featured a beauty shot of Lucy.

Wade Davis was the anti-Indiana Jones. I was prepared to endure his speech for my boyfriend. I still have my signed copy of Serpent and the Rainbow and every other book he wrote.

Alice Walker was quiet, powerful, and made me fall in love with Zora Neale Hurston's story.

Will D. Campbell still makes me want to be a better person than I can be.

So does Tony Campolo.

Angelique Kidjo made me understand why people believed in mermaids,

 

Norman Schwarzkopf, 1994, Orlando. Unfortunately, he was there as part of a big gathering for a major MLM company. So a lot of drivel before and after his speech, but he was amazing to hear.