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Rick Bragg and Roy Wood, Jr. (Alabama Humanities Alliance)

On Monday, December 2, writer Rick Bragg and comic Roy Wood Jr.—both Alabama natives—will be in Birmingham to be recognized as 2024 Alabama Humanities Fellows by the Alabama Humanities Alliance (AHA).

Read on to learn more + get your tickets today.

Rick Bragg & Roy Wood Jr.: In Conversation

What: Alabama Humanities Alliance Presents: Rick Bragg & Roy Wood Jr.: In Conversation
When: Monday, December 2, 2024 | 6:30PM
Where: Jemison Concert Hall in the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center, 1200 10th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35294
Cost: $50 – $100, benefiting Alabama Humanities Alliance
Tickets: Available online, by phone at 205.975.2787 and via the UAB Box Office

About the Alabama Humanities Alliance

Founded in 1974, AHA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through various programs and grants, AHA promotes storytelling, lifelong learning and civic engagement while providing Alabamians with opportunities to connect.

AHA’s signature event is the annual Alabama Colloquium, which celebrates the humanities’ impact in the state.

During the Alabama Colloquium, AHA awards the Alabama Humanities Fellow title to individuals whose work has positively impacted the state, nation and the world.

Bonus: The 2024 Alabama Colloquium will also celebrate AHA’s 50th anniversary!

During this year’s Alabama Colloquium, AHA will feature:

An in-depth conversation between 2024 Alabama Humanities Fellows Rick Bragg and Roy Wood, Jr.
An award ceremony for Bragg and Wood Jr., as well as other individuals for their work supporting the humanities in Alabama
A celebration of AHA’s 50th anniversary

In addition to Bragg and Wood Jr., the Alabama Colloquium will feature several special guests:

Kaitlan Collins, CNN anchor, Prattville native, UA alumna. She will moderate the evening’s conversation between Bragg and Wood.
Devon Frazier, educator and founder of the “I See Me” literacy nonprofit in Birmingham – one of several literacy and educational organizations Wood has supported in his home state. Frazier will present Wood with his award.
Cassandra King, award-winning author, past Alabama Humanities Fellow, and founding director of the Pat Conroy Literary Center. King is a longtime friend of Bragg’s, and she will present Bragg with his award.

Rick Bragg and Roy Wood, Jr. will join a distinguished list of Alabama Humanities Fellows, including:

Harper Lee
Bryan Stevenson
E.O. Wilson
Odessa Woolfolk
W. Kamau Bell
Wayne Flynt
Brittany Howard
Jason Isbell

About the Honorees

Rick Bragg

Hailing from Possum Trot—a small unincorporated town in Calhoun County, AL—Rick Bragg is an award-winning journalist and writer with more than a dozen books to his name.

His first and most popular title, All Over but the Shoutin’, details his childhood in rural Alabama and his rise to a career in journalism.

The distinctive writer has received several awards, including:

A Pulitzer Prize for reporting
A James Beard Award for Food Culture and Travel
The Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer
The Fitzgerald Prize for Literary Excellence

Roy Wood Jr.

Known for his eight-year tenure as a Correspondent on The Daily Show and his turn as host of the 2023 White House Correspondents Dinner, Roy Wood Jr. is a stand-up comic and actor from right here in The Magic City.

The son of renowned civil rights journalist, Roy Wood Sr., Wood Jr. got his start as a prank caller with the Buck Wilde Morning Show on 95.7 JAMZ-WBHJ before launching his career as a stand-up comic. To date, Wood Jr. has released three comedy specials (with a fourth on the way):

Roy Wood Jr.: No One Loves You
Roy Wood Jr.: Father Figure
Roy Wood Jr.: Imperfect Messenger

Wood Jr. has also returned to his hometown for several projects, including narrating the Alabama Public Television’s Alabama at 200 documentary and recently serving as an ambassador and correspondent for the MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues game earlier this year.