IMPORTANT NOTE: These are the archived stories for Belmont News & Achievements prior to June 26, 2023. To see current stories, click here.

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Writer Dr. Rachel Martin Chronicles Life of Febb Burn, Who Wrote the Letter that Changed American History

Haley Charlton
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Writer Dr. Rachel Martin Chronicles Life of Febb Burn, Who Wrote the Letter that Changed American History

A featured event of Belmont’s 19th annual Humanities Symposium, as well as an event from Belmont’s Debate 2020 programming lineup, “A Mother’s Advice Is Always Safest:” The Woman Who Wrote the Letter That Changed American History” was presented virtually by Dr. Rachel Louise Martin on September 30. The Symposium is organized by faculty of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences.

Martin, a writer and historian who earned her doctorate in women’s and gender history, led the talk and Q&A that explored the life of Febb Burn. When the fight for ratification moved to Tennessee, many suffragettes were ready to write off the amendment. They believed there was no hope for victory in the South. Then Burn, a widowed mother in Appalachia, sent an eight-page letter to her son Representative Harry T. Burn, flipping his vote.

The message of Martin’s presentation was that world-changing reform doesn’t happen because famous people behave heroically; change occurs when thousands of ordinary people living in quiet backwaters decide to fight for the American dream.

Martin chronicled the life of Febb, or Febbie as she was called. Her son, Harry, was the youngest representative and had earned the nickname Baby Burn. Nobody was sure how he would vote on the amendment, but the morning of, he walked into the room wearing a red rose, which was an anti-suffragette symbol. During roll call vote, he stood up still wearing his red rose, but voted instead for women to have the right to vote.

The reason he changed his mind? A letter in his pocket that he had received that morning from his mother Febb. The letter was pages long and discussed the rainy weather, family news, a plea for him to write to her and a casual mention that he should vote for suffrage. That was enough.

A Mother's Advice is Always Safest

Febb told the press later on that the real reason she cared so much was because as an educated, successful woman and taxpayer, she felt it unjust that she didn’t have a hand in her country’s affairs while men around her who couldn’t read or write and didn’t pay taxes did.

Martin recommended further reading of “The Woman’s Hour” by Elaine Weiss and “Tennessee Statesman Harry T. Burn: Woman Suffrage, Free Elections and a Life of Service” by Tyler L. Boyd to get the full story on what happened that day.

Education was very important to Febbie and her family. She was educated as a schoolteacher and worked until she got married and moved to Mouse Creek, later known as Niota. She passed this love of education to her children and wanted them to use their gifts to make a difference in the world. After her husband and youngest daughter died, she moved herself and her children to a farm they named Half Burn.

She did receive some recognition for her role in the vote at that time by the League of Women voters and other journalists, but for the rest of her days, she lived quietly on the farm enjoying her time as a grandmother. When she died of heart trouble years later, she was mourned but was basically forgotten until her story resurfaced this year as Tennessee celebrated the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage. Her descendants have also become interested in her story, and there is now a statue of her and Harry in Knoxville.

Martin said, “The effort to resurrect her story got me thinking about the importance of our approach to history. A history that hides more than it shows – Febb was one of many who have been forgotten as we tell the story of women’s suffrage. It means we have erased the people who didn’t fit into society’s dominant cast. If you were not white, wealthy and well-educated, you were forgotten.”

The method of approaching history by telling glorified narratives of progress means the average person gets to ignore how many people were written out of the story. Martin explained Febb’s flaws – she was most likely racist and selfishly fighting for her own rights and not the country at large. She was far from perfect, but so were all of our heroes.

“It’s important for us to wrestle with that because we have our own flaws, every bit as mired in our ways of thinking and acting as someone like Febb was,” Martin said. “We perpetuate those systems on to future generations when we tell these ‘wonderful’ histories. We need to begin acknowledging how the people we honor fell short and use them as a way of making changes moving forward.”

She continued by saying society needs to be a bit more pragmatic in its attempts at bettering the world. “We need to push each other toward less prejudice but look at it as a spectrum of growth. We need to recognize when people are growing past who they have been, even if it’s not perfect,” she said. “If the only people who changed the world are famous or the smartest or the wealthiest, it encourages us not to have to do anything and get off easy. It’s an excuse for inaction. The people who make the biggest differences are often not different from ourselves.”

Martin started her research on Febb’s story a year ago and intended to have it out in time for the centennial celebration of the 19th amendment, but she landed a book deal which put the project on hold. Find more about Martin on rachelmartinwrites.com where you can also pre-order her new book, “Hot, Hot Chicken: A Nashville Story.”

Cunningham Explores the Legacies, Impacts of Racial Injustices

Nicole Jones
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Cunningham Explores the Legacies, Impacts of Racial Injustices

As a part of both Belmont’s 19th annual Humanities Symposium and Debate 2020 Programming, the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences hosted David Cunningham for a conversation on the commemorative landscape of the racialized past through monuments and the stories they continue to tell today. Cunningham is professor and chair of sociology at Washington University and is a nationally recognized scholar on topics of causes and consequences of racial contention.

Cunningham began this conversation by explaining how telling the stories of contested monuments and their commemorative landscapes can enable us to think generally of how we see the world around us. Both spectacular monuments, such as the Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, Virginia, and modest examples, such as the small plaque honoring Mae Beth Carter at the base of a tree at the University of Mississippi, can impact their communities.

“Facing these histories with courage can take the form of these grand, spectacular reimaginings of spaces, as we see in Richmond today, but also can take the form of equally courageous, more modest efforts,” said Cunningham. He encouraged students to think in both grand ways and ways in which everyday actions can transform these conversations to think about our surroundings in the places we traverse and reside in different ways.

Cunningham shared three points on engaging legacies of racial injustice. First, Cunningham stated the social meaning of a monument shifts in relation to its surroundings. A dialogue occurs within the proximity of commemorative objects. He explained this with the campaigns that have occurred over the past five years not to remove statues, but to contextualize them. He acknowledges that it is important to recognize the existence of historical monuments but also continue to move the conversations they start forward.

Secondly, the impact of movements to address the monumental landscape differs based on how monuments are recontextualized. This further expanded his first point by providing examples of how monuments are often recontextualized and what effects can result. Erasure, entirely removing a monument, has often resulted in also removing the conversation surrounding it from public debate. Cunningham posed the question, rather than entirely removing a monument, what can be done to transform its meaning? Repositioning is another option to modify and relocate the monument to become less of a significant commemoration and more of an object of study to be critically examined.

Amplification is yet another option to recontextualize a monument. This involves keeping it in its place but contextualizing it more broadly to create a basis for a movement. An example of this is the Robert E. Lee Monument becoming an open canvas today as site of critique and further discussion. Other ways of recontextualizing contested monuments have been the addition of new art in close proximity as protest. Pieces like Kehinde Wiley’s “Rumors of War,” opposing the image of the Robert E. Lee Monument with a version featuring a young African American man, is located in the same community to provide a parallel depiction that is entirely critiquing the historical monument, attempting to get people to think differently.

Finally, the commemorative landscape should provide a means to critically engage our shared history. It is important to think of commemorative objects as dynamic, providing opportunity to engage with history in order to tell the truth in such a way that moves us forward. Cunningham emphasized the need to have an honest conversation of where we have been as we begin to think about where we are going.

Susan Neiman Discusses Her Book ‘Learning from the Germans’

Emma dela Pena
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Susan Neiman Discusses Her Book ‘Learning from the Germans’

As part of Belmont University’s Debate 2020 programming lineup, Susan Neiman joined the University for a discussion about racial tension in the United States and how it relates to past historical events in Germany, in a conversation moderated by Assistant Professor of Religion and the Arts Dr. David Dark. Neiman is the author of “Learning from the Germans,” a book Dark described as a “years-long labor of love.” 

The event started with Dark asking Neiman about her transition from living in the United States to moving and working in Berlin. Moving there as a Fulbright scholar in 1982, Neiman did not expect to stay more than a year in Germany. However, she was presented with a director position at the Einstein Forum in Berlin which she accepted shortly after her time as a Fulbright scholar.  

Neiman expressed that the Charleston, South Carolina massacre in 2015 was a defining moment in recognizing that America was portraying issues similar to what the Germans had been through before. She stressed that “ignorance of our history and racism is not confined to the south, but the deep south is a magnifying glass for the rest of the country.” 

Now more than ever, Neiman stressed the need for everyone to learn and educate themselves more on racial injustice. The death of George Floyd is a prominent example of how “if we don’t come to terms with and face our violent past, violence continues to move into the future.” 

The event discussed much of James Meredith’s life, an American civil rights movement figure, who single-handedly integrated the University of Mississippi. Neiman shared her interview with Meredith where she was able to learn more about his success and family life in a casual setting. She encouraged and educated students on the importance of voting by sharing Meredith’s extensive campaign to get 6,000 African American voters. 

Neiman ended the conversation discussing how the United States has and can move forward in fighting racial injustice. “All of us want something more in our lives and what we want is to leave the world a little better than we found it,” shared Neiman.

Seigenthaler Discusses the Impact of Social Media with Belmont Students

Nicole Jones
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Seigenthaler Discusses the Impact of Social Media with Belmont Students

Belmont’s Jack C. Massey College of Business, in partnership with the student-based American Marketing Association campus chapter, hosted a virtual conversation with John M. Seigenthaler as a part of the Debate 2020 Programming. Seigenthaler, former weekend anchor and correspondent for NBC and MSNBC, is current partner of Nashville-based PR firm DVL Seigenthaler.

The event, moderated by Dean Sarah Gardial, began with an overview from Gardial on the growth of social media use, especially among young adults, and the influence and impact it has on politics. The event featured a Q&A with students and Seigenthaler, providing insight to common questions of misinformation online.

Students studying varying interests from journalism and political science to music business and marketing presented questions for Seigenthaler regarding freedom of speech, fact checking, best practices to avoid spreading misinformation and influence of social media in communities and political climates.

“We all have a responsibility to stand up,” Seigenthaler said. “What we can do is fight hate speech or fight misinformation or false information with truth.”

Seigenthaler explained that while the social media platforms have a responsibility in the conversation of the spread of misinformation online, student leaders at Belmont also have a responsibility and opportunity to understand what is right and wrong and how the role they play in the conversation can help lead the way to change our society for the better.

Belmont Alumna, CEO of Music Label Songs and Daughters Featured in Nashville Business Journal

Emma dela Pena
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Belmont Alumna, CEO of Music Label Songs and Daughters Featured in Nashville Business Journal

Alumna Nicolle Galyon was featured in the Nashville Business Journal sharing her experience in running a business and her transition into her career after joining NBC’s “The Voice.” As a graduate of the class of 2006 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Music Business, Galyon is the president and CEO of Songs & Daughters, Nashville’s first female-driven label, which is in partnership with Big Loud Records. 

Throughout the NBJ article, Galyon shares what she has learned from being the CEO of a company for the past year. She expresses the empathy she has towards other CEOs in the music industry now having seen “what it’s like to sit in a room, make a decision, put your name and stand behind that decision.”

Additionally, Galyon has high hopes for this company to make an impact on the Nashville community, specifically young females pursuing music. “For a lot of the young talent, especially the young females moving to Nashville, I hope that it serves as a symbol of hope, encouragement and belonging,” she said.

The full article “The Boss: Nicolle Galyon sang to get her lyrics heard,” is published in the Nashville Business Journal. 

Dervan Elected to American Bar Association Board of Governors

Haley Charlton
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Dervan Elected to American Bar Association Board of Governors

Law Professor Lucian E. Dervan has been elected to the American Bar Association (ABA) Board of Governors for a three-year term. The Board of Governors is currently comprised of 43 members, including the ABA president, and oversees the general operation of the ABA and develops specific plans of action. As part of his duties, Dervan also becomes a voting member of the ABA House of Delegates, the policy-making body of the association.

Professor of Law and Director of Criminal Justice Studies at Belmont University’s College of Law, Dervan has been active with the ABA for many years. Most recently, the ABA president appointed him to serve as chair of the ABA Commission on the American Jury from 2019 to 2020. Prior to that appointment, Dervan was chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section from 2018 to 2019.

Dervan leading an ABA CJS meeting as Chair
Dervan Leading an ABA CJS meeting as Chair

“I am extremely honored to join the ABA Board of Governors,” Dervan said. “I enjoyed leading both a commission and section of the ABA in the past and look forward to the opportunity to engage more deeply regarding the issues impacting the organization as a whole as we seek to advance the association’s mission of defending liberty and delivering justice.”

Founded in 1878, the American Bar Association is the world’s largest voluntary association of lawyers. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law. 

Dervan’s research and teaching focuses on domestic and criminal law. More information about his research is available here in an article regarding his receipt of the College of Law’s inaugural Distinguished Scholar Award.

Cusic Examines Link Between Country Music, Politics for ‘Ideas of America’ Debate 2020 Programming Event

Haley Charlton
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Cusic Examines Link Between Country Music, Politics for ‘Ideas of America’ Debate 2020 Programming Event

A couple of Belmont University’s highpoints are its hometown of Music City and its excellent School of Music and Music Business program. Ahead of hosting the third and final Presidential Debate on October 22 and as part of Belmont’s Debate 2020 programming, “The Ideas of America,” Professor of Music Business Dr. Don Cusic embraced this musical angle further with a virtual presentation on “Politics and Country Music” on September 28.

Country music and politics have been linked since the 1800s. There have been country performers who have been elected to office, and country artists have lent their talents to politicians running for office. As a historian, author, songwriter, record producer and Curb College Professor, Cusic discussed several moments throughout history where country music and politics have been linked.

Much of Cusic’s session told the story of Wilbert Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel – an American Democratic Party politician from Texas, who came to prominence by hosting a popular radio program. Through music from his fellow band members in the western swing band Light Crust Doughboys, original poems and a wholesome brand, O’Daniel built a large base of supporters. He was able to create an image of being a simple, country boy, and he became so popular that his supporters financed his campaign for governor in 1937, despite having no political experience.

O’Daniel won 53 percent of the vote. Knowing the fear of the country farmers with no social security plan in place, he proposed a pension plan of $35 a month for anyone over 60, which was four times the Texas budget at the time. He also promised not to raise taxes. However, this plan was never enacted.

Cusic laughed, explaining, “He didn’t know what he was doing, and he had no intention of learning. He liked the position but not the job; in fact, he couldn’t really do the job. There are two parts to politics. One is getting elected and the other is governing. Some are good at the first but not the second. And there are people the other way around.”

This all occurred during Roosevelt’s fireside radio chat era, and O’Daniel was able to connect with voters in that same way through his radio program. He ran with the message that he would protect the people from everything, and they believed him. He received 51 percent of the vote for his reelection and even made it to the senate before his lack of political knowhow eventually caught up to him in Washington.

Another example that Cusic shared was the story of Jimmie Davis, a recording artist with several big hits and roles in popular cowboy movies. After releasing “You are My Sunshine” in 1940, Davis performed the song instead of giving a speech at a political debate and ended up getting elected the governor of Louisiana. He continued recording music and staring in movies while in office and was later inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame.

Cusic mentioned other country singers who ran for office, including Roy Acuff, Stuart Hamblen and Tex Ritter. One of the first presidential campaigns to utilize country music was between George Wallace and Richard Nixon in 1968. Wallace’s advisors worked to bring in Minnie Pearl to draw a crowd for the rallies, while Nixon got the endorsement of Acuff and Ritter. Cusic explained that with the ties to the country artists, the candidates seemed more accessible and relatable to the working class than did the far-removed politicians in Washington.

“The country audience at that time were the working class with simple and conservative politics, and they were the key voting audience,” Cusic said. “They related to them by being the counter to the counter culture which was rock and roll, free love, drugs and the music of Jimi Hendrix.”

Cusic played a clip of Merle Haggard’s song “Okie from Muskogee” which contains lyrics around this topic such as “We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee,” “We don’t burn our draft cards down on Main Street” and “We don’t let our hair grow long and shaggy.” The idea was to position the crowd opposite of the “hippies” in San Francisco and the demonstrators.

Cusic told many stories and related country music to its ties with political leaders all the way up to current day, mentioning that several country singers performed at President Donald Trump’s inauguration, and his events frequently feature the country song “God Bless the USA.”

To find more about the “Ideas of America” programming and view upcoming events, visit the Belmont Debate 2020 website’s events calendar.

Alumna Crystal Moss Opens Her Own Practice, Stepping Stones Therapy

Nicole Jones
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Alumna Crystal Moss Opens Her Own Practice, Stepping Stones Therapy

Belmont alumna Crystal Moss recently opened Stepping Stones Therapy and serves as co-founder and speech-language pathologist. The practice, located in Cookeville, Tennessee, offers pediatric speech, occupational and physical therapy services, as well as specialized services in bilingual speech therapy and services for children with hearing loss.

Moss graduated from Belmont in 2014 with a major in biology and a double minor in chemistry and Spanish. She was also in the Honors Program and an Ingram Scholar, which afforded her the opportunity to create life-long friendships with fellow Ingram Scholars. Moss also dedicated her time to being involved with Bruin Recruiters and Belmont Ambassadors and served as treasurer of Theta Pre-Health Club and historian of Tri-Beta Biological Honors Society.

Belmont had great impact and influence on Moss’s career path. She originally intended to pursue a career as a physician, but after shadowing at a local hospital in Nashville, she discovered that wasn’t quite the right career for her. It was her advisor, Dr. Jennifer Thomas in the Department of Biology, who helped foster Moss’s love for science and helped her discover speech language pathology.

“If it wasn’t for this outstanding mentoring relationship, I don’t know that I would have found the career of speech language pathology or had the motivation to apply to graduate school. The attention that Belmont gives its student-professor relationships is exceptional and it played a huge part in the career path I chose, as well as the way in which I interact with my patients and their families on a daily basis,” Moss said.

Ultimately, COVID-19 was the reason that Moss decided to open her own practice. After being furloughed from her job, she and a colleague, an occupational therapist, decided to use their strengths to work together to open their own practice. The idea was born in late May and the pair opened their doors in September.

“I specialize in childhood hearing loss and am a bilingual SLP and knew that I had to do everything I could to provide quality services to children in the Upper Cumberland area, which is underserved and lacking in services already.”

To current students, Moss shared, “My advice would be to stay focused and when life throws a wrench in your original plans, just go with it. I definitely did not plan to open my own practice this year but I saw the opportunity and went with it and it has been so rewarding. There’s nothing like being able to work for yourself. My other piece of advice would be to make sure to foster the student-advisor relationship. That relationship has proven to be so helpful to me.”

Alumnus Ashley Gorley Named Nashville’s Songwriter of the Year

Emma dela Pena
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Alumnus Ashley Gorley Named Nashville’s Songwriter of the Year

Belmont music business alumnus Ashley Gorley was recognized as Nashville’s Songwriter of the Year at the Nashville Songwriter Awards for the fifth year in a row. This year, the event was held virtually and presented by the Nashville Songwriters Association International.

Billboard recognized Gorley’s achievements in “Nashville Songwriter Awards Reveal 2020 Songwriter of the Year: Exclusive.” The article shares many of his achievements and includes testimonials from other country singers who have collaborated with him.

Collaborating with Gorley on his song “Riding Roads,” country artist Dustin Lynch said in the article, “It’s like the dude can just grab stuff every single day out of the air. He’s just full of music.”

Gorley was featured on Belmont News earlier in August for accomplishing a milestone of 50 No. 1 songs. 

Diaz-Cruz Participates in Race, Racism Panel Discussion

Haley Charlton
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Diaz-Cruz Participates in Race, Racism Panel Discussion

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Race and Racism Series was developed to help create and foster dialogue in the university community on a variety of topics. Dr. Diaz-Cruz was invited to serve as a panelist for two panel discussions titled: “Racism in Academia” and “Race and Racism with Respect to the Hispanic/Latinx Communities.” 

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