Contributed
NORTH CAROLINA – The William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations is now accepting nominations and applications from all North Carolina residents for the next class of Friday Fellows.
Named for the late UNC System President William C. “Bill” Friday, the Friday Fellowship is approaching its 30th year of bringing together North Carolinians across differences. Eleven classes of Friday Fellows have completed the two-year experience that includes six extended weekend seminars at locations throughout the state. The Friday Fellowship is a program of Wildacres Leadership Initiative.
Almost 75 years ago, Wildacres Retreat, which is located in McDowell County near the Blue Ridge Parkway, was dedicated “to the betterment of human relations” in hopes that people who visited would learn to live together in harmony. Wildacres Leadership Initiative (WLI) was formed 50 years later to work throughout the state, launching the Friday Fellowship program to cultivate North Carolina leaders.
In Bill Friday’s words, “The greatest need in our state and country is for a generation of leaders with moral principles, and ethical standards…with an unshakable commitment to courage and fairness with grace and courtesy and decency.”
There are over 200 Friday Fellows throughout the state and nation. Friday Fellows come from all walks of life and employment sectors. They include religious leaders, K-12 teachers, non-profit executives, elected officials, writers, small-business owners, higher education professionals, entrepreneurs, and community members leading in a variety of ways.
Friday Fellowship applicants should be prepared to engage across differences with curiosity and courage.
Applications and nominations are due March 30, 2023, for consideration in selecting the 2023-2025 class of Friday Fellows. There is no cost, fee, or tuition for the Friday Fellowship. Applicants and nominators should review all program requirements carefully.
To be considered for selection, candidates must complete an application in addition to being nominated by someone who is meaningfully connected to their work in the world.
WLI invites candidates from all 100 North Carolina counties. Nominations are being accepted from the general public.
Complete information, including nomination and application forms, is available at https://www.fridayfellowship.org/page/FellowshipApplication2023
Questions about the William C., Friday Fellowship for Human Relations or Wildacres Leadership Initiative, may be directed to WLI’s Director Hunter Corn at hunter@fridayfellowship.org.
About Wildacres Leadership Initiative
The William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations, is the flagship program of the Wildacres
Leadership Initiative (WLI). Through the Friday Fellowship and associated programs, WLI trains, supports, and convenes a statewide network of leaders to address North Carolina’s pressing issues through civil dialogue and engagement across differences with a goal to improve the lives of North Carolinians. More than 200 Friday Fellows from every region, sector, and field have completed the program. For more information, visit www.fridayfellowship.org and follow us on Twitter @FridayFellows or Facebook @FridayFellowshipPublic or Instagram @Friday_Fellowship_NC.
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“Its 1,200 acres were originally bought by Thomas Dixon Jr. (1864-1946), a white supremacist Baptist minister, lawyer, writer and filmmaker. His book, “The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan,” was adapted by film director D. W. Griffith into a movie, “Birth of a Nation,” considered one of the most racist Hollywood movies for its depiction of Blacks. In the 1920s Dixon bought Wildacres, but after the stock market crash of 1929, he went bankrupt.”
How can people who claim to be anti-racist meet in a place that pays homage to the racist nature of the person who first purchased this land? In addition to constantly touting Dixon in their liturature, the Wildacres library also holds one of the only and most complete collections of Dixon’s poorly written and racist works. Why keep this idiot’s memory alive? I own a house. I know nothing about the people who owned it before me. If Hitler had owned it, I would not feel obligated to build a shrine. IMHO it is impossible to do God’s work in a place that revere’s someone who created a work that brought on lynchings and Jim Crow. ESPECIALLY in the south! A shrine to the indiginous people and slaves who lived and worked in the area would be much more appropriate.