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Georgia Historical Society’s Profiles in Leadership Examines the Role of Leadership in the Lynching of Leo Frank

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Atlanta, GA—September 17, 2009. The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) invites you to attend a roundtable discussion on “Leadership in Crisis: The Leo Frank Lynching," on Thursday, October 15, 2009, at the Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) Studios in Atlanta.  PBS will air a new documentary on the Frank lynching this fall, The People v. Leo Frank. With the centennial of the events of 1913-1915 fast approaching, GHS has assembled a stellar panel for a timely and important discussion about one of the most controversial and darkest chapters in Georgia and American history.  GPB will tape this roundtable discussion to air following the national broadcast of The People v. Leo Frank on PBS on Monday, November 2, 2009 at 9 p.m.

The panel – former Governor Roy Barnes, journalist Steve Oney, and professor Matthew Bernstein of Emory University – will examine the key role of leadership played by Georgia Governor John Slaton and others involved in the case, as well as the ongoing legacy of the Frank lynching and the continuing controversy surrounding Frank's guilt and 1986 pardon.   This free event takes place Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in Studio C at GPB, 260 14th Street NW, Atlanta, and will be moderated by Stan Deaton, GHS’s Senior Historian.  A book signing will follow the main program.  Please RSVP to 404.376.8161 or kboyd(at)georgiahistory.com.  

Roy Barnes served as the eightieth governor of Georgia from 1999-2003.  Barnes practices law in the Atlanta area and prior to his term as governor served 25 years as a state legislator.  As both a lawyer and former governor, Barnes has a long-standing personal and professional interest in the Frank case and provided his insight to the upcoming PBS documentary.

Matthew H. Bernstein is professor, chair, and director of graduate studies in the Film Studies Department at Emory University.  Bernstein holds an MFA in Film from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Bernstein is the author of Screening a Lynching: The Leo Frank Case on Film and Television, published by the University of Georgia Press. 

Steve Oney is the author of And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank, which won many national awards.  Formerly a staff writer for The Atlanta Journal & Constitution Magazine, Oney has written for many national publications.  His articles have been anthologized in The Best American Magazine Writing 2008 and The Best American Sports Writing 2006.  He was educated at the University of Georgia and at Harvard, where he was a Nieman fellow.  Oney is chief consultant for the new PBS documentary, The People v. Leo Frank, which airs nationally on PBS Monday, November 2, 2009 at 9 p.m.