Southern comfort.

• Author: Osman, Edith G.
• Position: National Civil Rights Museum - President's Page

For years I've heard stories from my predecessors about the Southern Conference of Bar Presidents. I was intrigued. I looked forward to joining this group when I became president of The Florida Bar. Last year, I finally received my first invitation to the conference. I was invited to spend four days in Branson, Missouri. Branson, Missouri? My big city instincts went into high gear: I anticipated a relaxing--make that boring--four days. Like most people who stereotype, I was flat wrong.

I sat down to dinner that first evening beside the President of the Alabama Bar. As we began our conversation, I was struck by the fact that I was having great difficulty understanding what he was saying--an unusual predicament for a person who prides herself on the ability to speak five languages. I was struck by the juxtaposition of me, a native New Yorker amidst this predominantly male group of bar presidents from Louisiana, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, West Virginia ...! It reminded me of my early Florida Bar work, when I began meeting and working with attorneys from all around the state. Back then, I was introduced to people with names like Rut, Ham, Skip and Major--many nicknames that were at first foreign to me ... until I grew to love and respect them.

Just as they had in Florida, the geographical and accent boundaries that I found in Branson came tumbling down. I met men with Southern drawls who fought for integration and women from antebellum homes who persuaded neighbors to hire African-Americans, house immigrants and learn to appreciate people from all religions. I discovered that Southern manners often masked Southern courage. Unlike my "politically correct" friends from Miami, when these folks fought for civil rights, they were ostracized by neighbors, not honored at black tie dinners. I loved the conference in Branson and couldn't wait to be invited back.

Last month, the Southern Conference met again--this time in Memphis, Tennessee--as southern a city as one could imagine. I had never been to Memphis before and looked forward to staying at the Peabody Hotel, an old southern favorite with a history and tradition all its own. I anticipated little more than great southern hospitality, dinners, dances and perhaps a trip to Graceland. Wrong again. For the Tennessee Bar President, Elvis was hardly the highest priority. Instead, the newly installed president, Randy Noles, together with past Tennessee Bar President, Pamela Reeves had arranged...