[Dialogue] Message from President of Chautauqua, Michael E. Hill

Sun Aug 14 07:28:11 PDT 2022

Thanks so much for sharing this, Ellie.

The Chataqua Institution and the movement it generated helped popularize
depth reflection in American culture, with early speakers like Emerson,
Thoreau, Booker T Washington, Frederick Douglass, Susan B Anthony and
others. I was glad to hear that Rushdie was speaking about asylum for
exiled writers, and deeply saddened by his stabbing.

One day not long after *Midnight's Children* was published (1981), I
happened on it at a pavement bookseller's, one of those who spread his
books carefully on a blanket by a busy Bombay street. Knowing none of the
buzz, I was quite taken with the way his magical realist writing took on
Partition and recent events, and it helped me understand the complexity of
the country where I had the privilege of working for six years.

Ronnie Seagren

On Sat, Aug 13, 2022 at 5:22 PM Ellie Stock via Dialogue <
dialogue at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:

> Hi Folks,
>
> Below is the text and video of words spoken by Michael E. Hill, President
> of Chautauqua, during vigil Friday night, following the attack on Salmon
> Rushdie.  Prayers for Rushdie and all involved, Chautauqua, and this nation.
>
> Grace and peace ~
>
> Ellie
> elliestock at aol.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chautauqua Institution <webmaster at chq.org>
> Sent: Sat, Aug 13, 2022 3:05 pm
> Subject: Message from President Michael E. Hill
>
> "What we experienced is unlike anything in our 150-year history"
> Message from President Michael E. Hill
>
> View this email in your browser
> <https://mailchi.mp/chq/salmanrushdie2022?e=9412a901f0>
> *Chautauqua Institution ::* Aug. 13 Message from President Michael E. Hill
>
> Sean Smith/*The Chautauquan Daily*
> *Flowers and candles are left outside the Amphitheater Friday evening
> after the attack Salman Rushdie.*
>
> By now you have likely heard we suffered a terrible tragedy at Chautauqua
> yesterday. What we experienced is unlike anything in our 150-year history.
> It was an act of violence, an act of hatred and a violation of one of the
> things we have always cherished most: the safety and tranquility of our
> grounds and our ability to convene the most important conversations, even
> if those conversations are difficult.
> Chautauqua is a community of people of all faiths and none. Our collective
> family is holding Salman Rushdie and Henry Reese, as well their families,
> close in prayer and close to our hearts. We have been in touch with their
> loved ones, and I was grateful to spend a very brief amount of time with
> Mr. Reese yesterday evening.
> But yesterday was also an attack on an ideal we cherish: that freedom of
> speech and freedom of expression are hallmarks to our society and to our
> democracy, they are the very underpinnings of who we are and what we
> believe, what we cherish most.
> We are called to take on fear and the worst of all human traits –
> hate.  And let’s be clear: what many of us witnessed was a violent
> expression of hate that shook us to our core. We saw it with our own eyes
> and in our faces.
> But we also saw something else that I don’t want us to forget. We saw some
> of the best of humanity in the response of all those who ran toward danger
> to halt it.
> I watched a member of our staff hurl themselves at the attacker.
> I saw Chautauquans rush the stage to help secure the perpetrator, making
> it possible for police to remove him.
> I saw Chautauquans who are doctors and nurses rush to provide selfless
> care while the ambulance arrived.
> I saw what our Chaplain of the week, Terri Hord Owens, called us to
> possess: a generous, radical love for each other and this community.
> So where do we go from here? How do we think about the days that
> follow? When hatred shows its ugliness…
> The response must be love, of course, but also action. We must return to
> our podiums and pulpits. We must continue to convene the critical
> conversations that can help build empathy; obviously, this is more
> important now than ever.
> There will be time in the days and weeks ahead to reflect on all we’ve
> experienced, and we have already been working on how to adapt to
> yesterday's horror to ensure our conversations continue. We will soon share
> operational details about how we will proceed through the remainder of the
> 2022 Summer Assembly.
> At this time, we are called to double down on our prayers for Mr. Rushdie
> and Mr. Reese and all those who love them. We are called to stand witness
> that this Chautauqua has but one choice: to ensure that the voices that
> have the power to change our world continue to have a home in which to be
> heard. That is ours to do.
> We can take the experience of hatred and reflect on what it means. Or we
> can come together even more strongly as a community who takes what happened
> yesterday and commits to not allowing that hatred be any part of our own
> hearts.
> I know this community and I know that you will make a choice for hope and
> goodness.
> Sincerely,
>
> Michael E. Hill
> President
>
> Please find below a link to the New York State Police news conference
> about the attack on Salman Rushdie at Chautauqua Institution Aug. 12,
> 2022.
> Following that is a link to our community vigil where I offered remarks.
> The vigil was held Friday, Aug. 12, at 7 p.m., in the Chautauqua
> Institution Hall of Philosophy.
> New York State Police Statement (8.12.22, updated)
> <https://chq.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f87e0f6a73eeba2fc2f1f793c&id=51c9bfd43c&e=9412a901f0>
>
> Community Vigil Remarks by Michael E. Hill, Ed.D., President of Chautauqua
> Institution
> <https://chq.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f87e0f6a73eeba2fc2f1f793c&id=706ac51e74&e=9412a901f0>
>
> *Stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding this horrific event at
> update.chq.org.
> <https://chq.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f87e0f6a73eeba2fc2f1f793c&id=8c6f3ede9e&e=9412a901f0> *
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