'Chautauqua' Educational Conference in Ashland, Nebraska this Weekend

‘Chautauqua,’ an annual educational meeting put together by Humanities Nebraska, takes place this weekend in Ashland. The conference will examine the 1950s and its various historical events.

Kristi Hayek Carley is the program manager for Chautauqua and said the ‘50s were a complex time full of change and nostalgia. She said attendees will be able to make connections between the decade and today.

“Suburban culture and a consumer culture that rises in the post-World War II era. The beginnings of television as being a large part of our lives. Also, the struggle for Civil Rights,” she said.

Hayek Carley said Brown vs. Board of Education, Little Rock schools integration, and Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the ‘50s set the course for Civil Rights legislation in the ‘60s.

Around this time last year Humanities Nebraska held an all-online summit. This weekend will be a hybrid event with in-person visitors encouraged to wear masks and the organization will have as many online events as possible.