The fifth annual Civil Rights conference hits on a topic close to home: the theme of the 2005 Civil Right Conference is Then and Now: The Road to School Desegregation in West Tennessee.

The conference began on yesterday with a mock trial re-enactment of Brown vs. Board of Education. The original trial was in Topeka, Kan., in 1954 and played a significant role in civil rights because it declared mandatory segregation unconstitutional. The mock trial was sponsored by the Student Government Association, Black Student Association, and the Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Today’s portion of the conference began with Tommy Wildcat welcoming everyone to the Civil Rights conference. Wildcat is a member of the Cherokee tribe in Oklahoma. Marilou Awiakta, an Appalachian/Cherokee Indian poet, will read some of her own work from 1-2 p.m.