Black Theater is as important as the sun because not only does it shed light, it provides energy and nourishment for growth and development. In the late '50s and early '60s, Black Theater was germinating from the soil of the black community throughout this country. An awakening pushed forth upright and bloomed into the Black Power Movement.

The sun was kinder and gentler this year at the out-of-doors ceremonies on the opening day of the 18th Annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference Sunday.

Bible Belt, Black Belt, Poverty Belt, and Racism Belt. ​ Keep the terms in mind for a minute. ​ First, read what Joseph Blotner, the University of Michigan English professor, said about the work of novelist William Faulkner. ​

When Dr. Wilbert Norton smiles, his spectacled face looks boyish. And when he speaks, a soft, calm-like voice is heard. That’s how he appeared to us on the evening of Thursday, July 5, less than a week and a half after a Daily Mississippian story said he was resigning as journalism chairman. We were sitting in his office in Farley Hall.

It was 7 am, Thursday, June 27. The sky was blue, and New Orleans Mayor Ernest N. Morial was dressed a little unusual. He was wearing short pants, a collarless shirt, and jogging shoes as he stretched his arms forward and leaned against his brick house on Harrison Avenue.

The Big Easy is dubbed as being carefree by promotional campaigns; but, if that is true for some in New Orleans, the economic picture is not as serene for its black residents. ​ The city of red beans, Mardi Gras, and Indians has a rich heritage-but a poor black community. ​ The Urban League of Greater New Orleans published an unprecedented report earlier this year called "The State of Black New Orleans 1985." ​

The black church is the historical backbone of the black community.