Join Franklin Tomorrow on Thursday, April 9, for Franklin Tomorrow’s inaugural FrankTalks event, featuring a discussion on “Why the Past Matters to Franklin’s Future.”
The featured speaker will be Robert Hicks, New York Times bestselling author and founding chairman emeritus of Franklin’s Charge.
What will make this discussion even more timely is April 9 is the 150th anniversary of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s surrender of his Confederate forces to Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomatox, ending the American Civil War.
Hicks serves as a member of the Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission, which had its featured event in Franklin last fall to mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Franklin. Hicks also authored a 2013 op-ed piece in The New York Times on “Why the Civil War Matters.”
“My goal is to help us understand why the Civil War matters at this time in our history as much as it ever has, if not more. If we are to remain that nation that 620,000 men and boys died for, we must understand what they gave us through their sacrifice,” Hicks said about his upcoming talk.
Attendance at the event is limited due to the location at the Eastern Flank Battlefield Park clubhouse, which is located off Lewisburg Pike adjacent to Carnton Plantation. Both locations are important to Hicks. He served three terms as president of Historic Carnton Plantation and his first novel, The Widow of the South, is a fictionalized account of the McGavock family’s experience during the Civil War and the Battle of Franklin.
Those attending the event will look out onto the Eastern Flank Battlefield Park, which according to the American Battlefield Protection Program represents “the largest battlefield reclamation in North American history.” As founding chairman emeritus of Franklin’s Charge, Hicks led the massive mission of saving what remained of the eastern flank of the battlefield at Franklin in a significant public/private effort of numerous preservation groups and the City of Franklin.
The cost for lunch is $15. To register, click here.
FrankTalks is a lecture and event series to address timely, topical, and interesting issues and events. Franklin Tomorrow is a nonprofit, community visioning organization which has as its mission to engage the community, foster collaboration, and advocate for a shared vision for the future of Franklin. Through visioning processes and other activities, the citizens have identified that shared vision as a vibrant economy, robust neighborhoods, distinct character and great people. Visit our Website at www.franklintomorrow.org.
For more information or questions, call (615) 794-0998 or email [email protected].
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