James Wayne Flynt (born October 4, 1940) is University

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

in the Department of History at

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

. He has won numerous teaching awards and been a

Distinguished University Professor Professors in the United States commonly occupy any of several positions of teaching and research within a college or university. In the U.S., the word "professor" is often used to refer to anyone who teaches at a college of university level at ...

for many years. His research focuses on Southern culture, Alabama politics, Southern religion, education reform, and poverty. He was the first Editor-in-Chief of the online ''

Encyclopedia of Alabama The ''Encyclopedia of Alabama'' is an online encyclopedia of the state of Alabama's history, culture, Geography of Alabama, geography, and natural environment. It is a statewide collaboration that involves more than forty institutions from across ...

''. Flynt received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from Howard College (shortly before its reorganization as

Samford University Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...

) in 1961 before taking his

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

(1962) and Ph.D. (1965) from

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. After teaching at Samford for 12 years, he joined the faculty at

in 1977, where he remained until his retirement in 2005. He was a friend of author

Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926 – February 19, 2016) was an American novelist whose 1960 novel ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of modern American literature. She assisted her close friend Truman ...

Biography

Growing up, Flynt moved around the South frequently with his parents because his father held a series of sales jobs. The family landed a couple of occasions in

Anniston, Alabama Anniston is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Alabama, Calhoun County in Alabama, United States, and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston–Oxford metropolitan area, Anniston–Oxford Metropo ...

, where Flynt graduated from high school in 1958. Flynt has written 13 books that focus largely on the historical, economic and social fabric of Alabama, including ''Poor But Proud: Alabama's Poor Whites'' (1990), and he co-wrote ''Alabama: A History of a Deep South State'', both of which were nominated for Pulitzer Prizes. He is editor-in-chief of the online ''Encyclopedia of Alabama'', a partnership of Auburn University and the Alabama Humanities Foundation. In 1993 he was the subject of an Alabama Public Television documentary. In 2002, the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

journalism department named Flynt as the winner of the Clarence Cason Writing Award, given to an author writing about or closely identified with the state of Alabama. He was a longtime friend of

, the author of ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a 1960 Southern Gothic novel by American author Harper Lee. It became instantly successful after its release; in the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' ...

;'' and gave the eulogy at her funeral. Flynt wrote a book about his friendship with Lee after her death in 2016 titled ''Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee'' (2017). He was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2006. Wayne Flynt was presented the Eugene Current-Garcia Award in 2004. Flynt and his late wife Dorothy have two sons, Sean and David.

Bibliography

''Mockingbird Songs: My Friendship with Harper Lee,''
2017, published by HarperCollins.
''Keeping the Faith: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives,''
2011, published by the

University of Alabama Press The University of Alabama Press is a university press founded in 1945 and is the scholarly publishing arm of the University of Alabama. An editorial board composed of representatives from all doctoral degree granting public universities within Al ...

''Alabama: The History of a Deep South State,''
2010, published by the

''Alabama in the Twentieth Century,''
2006, published by the

''Alabama Baptists,''
2005, published by the

* Dixie's Forgotten People: The South's Poor Whites, 2004, published by Indiana University Press
''Poor but Proud,''
2001, published by the

''Taking Christianity to China,''
1997, published by the

* Mine, Mill, and Microchip: A Chronicle of Alabama Enterprise, 1986, published by Windsor Publications, Inc. * Southern Poor Whites: An Annotated Bibliography with Dorothy S. Flynt, 1981, published by Garland Publishers * Montgomery: An Illustrated History, 1980, published by Windsor Publications, Inc. * Cracker Messiah: Governor Sidney J. Catts of Florida, 1977, published by Louisiana State University Press * Duncan Upshaw Fletcher: Dixie's Reluctant Progressive, 1971, published by Florida State University Press

Biography

Bibliography

References

Further reading