Flashbacks: Echoes of Past Issues
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RENAISSANCE MAN CLYDE EDGERTON RECEIVES 2023 JOHN TYLER CALDWELL AWARD FOR THE HUMANITIES For inspiring a passion for lifelong learning in his students, for his commitment to equitable education opportunities, and for using the humanities to uplift different perspectives as a writer, musician, educator, artist, and scholar, Clyde Edgerton was presented with the John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities, North Carolina Humanities’ highest honor.
tribute by Hannah Dela Cruz Abrams last example comes with a valuable illustration of his commitment to progress and transparency. As a result of working one-on-one with opportunity youth and his own children’s enrollment in an area elementary school, Clyde came to understand that a local, Spanish Immersion Program was using discriminatory recruitment methods that effectively eliminated minority students from inclusion. When Clyde filed a grievance and contacted parents who were not made aware of the program, he was initially, briefly banned from New Hanover County Schools, which shocked and outraged residents. Undeterred, Clyde provided substantial evidence and, after a thorough investigation and the resultant report in the Star News titled “Overwhelmingly White,” Clyde was vindicated. Certain administrators issued apologies and resigned their posts. I include this narrative to underscore Clyde’s abiding dedication to right wrongs and advocate for social justice. In this same year, Clyde was inducted into the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame. This is a man whose understanding of the state began with a strict Southern Baptist upbringing and evolved as he served in the air force and became a star in the arts and academia. Perhaps due to this background, Clyde famously connects with every kind of North Carolinian. His readings and lectures draw throngs of seniors and veterans as well as students, community leaders, and those who have labored faithfully in the margins. Granted, this may read a bit rich, but there is no hyperbole here. I have yet to encounter a single person who does not light up at his name. To know him is to love and admire him. He accomplishes a great deal for the state and does it all with a winning grin and a trademark twinkle in his eyes. n
HANNAH DELA CRUZ ABRAMS is a North Carolina Humanities Trustee. She teaches in the English Department at UNC Wilmington and is the author of The Man Who Danced with Dolls (Madras Press, 2012), for which she received a 2013 Whiting Writers Award.
ABOVE Clyde Edgerton, performing at the luncheon given in his honor, Charlotte, NC, 20 Oct. 2023 (Watch the North Carolina Humanities Stories Luncheon program, featuring Edgerton receiving his award and playing music.)
COURTESY OF NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES
A true son of North Carolina, Clyde Edgerton was born in Bethesda, NC, and received his PhD in literature from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. His love of and loyalty to the state and broader South have become apparent in his work as an artist, educator, scholar, veteran, and philanthropist. When it comes to the arts, Edgerton’s talents are not limited to any particular medium. He has been recognized again and again for excellence as a writer, musician, playwright, director, and visual artist. And, in all this work, he unfailingly forwards concerns central to the humanities: conversations about place, culture, civic responsibility, family, work, education, and the arts. I will not enumerate here his lengthy list of accolades and publications, except to call attention to the fact that at his most visible – whether it be an appearance on PBS receiving the Guggenheim – Clyde pays homage to the South, North Carolina in particular, elucidating its complex history, evolution, and beauty. Humorous and humble in person, it is difficult to downplay how beloved, how inspirational this man is. As a professor in the Creative Writing Department at UNC Wilmington, his leadership, pedagogical counsel, and tremendous generosity precede him, and the impact is as broad as it is personal. I know because I was his student. His office door is always open and, despite having one of the most weighted schedules in academia, his attention to his students is whole and patient. I could fill many pages with his genius as an instructor; instead, I suggest we measure his success in broader, community-oriented terms. He delivers commencement speeches at no cost to the university and draws in valuable donors. He hosts community events in his home to which everyone is invited. He tutors students at elementary schools. In fact, this