Barkley Forum

Every year since 1967, the Barkley Forum honors an outstanding communicator from the state of Georgia with the presentation of the Georgia Speaker of the Year Award. The recipient is presented with the award at the annual Barkley Forum Award Banquet held in conjunction with the Barkley Forum for High Schools. The banquet invites members of the Emory community, high school forensics, and Barkley Forum members, alumni, and their families to honor the students of the Barkley Forum and thank their supporters. The Award reminds us that the art of forensics plays a part in life outside of debate. Public argument, ethical persuasion, and communication are critical components of a good civic life. Debate strives to teach these skills. The Georgia Speaker of the Year represents these skills in a much larger community than competitive forensics.

1967	Charles Longstreet Weltner	1985	John Portman
1968	William H. Burson	1986	Fletcher Wolfe
1969	Ralph E. McGill	1987	Thomas Glenn Pelham
1970	Elliot H. Levitas	1988	Robert Stephen Kahn
1971	Bishop John Owen Smith	1989	Jane O. Hansen
1972	Grace T. Hamilton	1990	Robert DeHaan
1973	Ellis McDougal	1991	Edward Turner
1974	Andrew Young	1992	Leah Sears
1975	Jimmy Carter	1993	Frances Pauley
1976	Benjamin Elijah Mays	1994	Kenny Leon
1977	Robert Shaw	1995	Robert Benham
1978	Horace T. Ward	1996	David Satcher
1979	Zell Miller	1997	Austin Ford
1980	Gudmund Vigtel	1998	Johnetta Cole
1981	Mills B. Lane III	1999	William Chace
1982	Wyche Fowler, Jr.	2000	Roy E. Barnes
1983	Lewis Grizzard	2001	Jane Fonda
1984	Ted Turner	2002	Rosalynn Carter
		2003	Renee Glover
		2004	Max Cleland

Scroll down for further information about the Georgia Speakers of the Year

2004	Max Cleland is a former United States Senator from the State of Georgia. Senator Cleland, an alumnus of Emory University graduate school, served in the Army during the Vietnam War. While there he was severely injured and suffered the debilitating loss of both legs and one arm. He returned to Georgia and finished his graduate degree at Emory. Later, he served as the head of the Department of Veteran Affairs in the Jimmy Carter Administration where he worked tirelessly to improve benefits for veterans, including seeing the first benefits ever for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most recently, he served on the 911 Commission and later as Chair of the Export-Import Bank.


2003	Renee Glover is the Director of the Atlanta Housing Authority. She is a pioneer in public housing who had a more holistic vision of the services of public accommodations. Rather than merely providing a roof and a bed, Ms. Glover saw the need to provide complete community support to make public housing a transition to a better life. As a result of her efforts, public housing in Atlanta is now a place to provide other social services such as education, child-care, and other social services.


2002	Rosalynn Carter is the former First Lady of the United States and social activist in her own right. She used her position in the White House to increase public awareness and understanding of mental health issues, pushed for increased access to mental health services and increased acceptance of those suffering from the some times debilitating effects of mental illness. In addition, she has been by former President Jimmy Carter’s side as they traveled the world improving the conditions of the impoverished, monitoring elections, and brokering peace agreements. She has been equally active in Habitat for Humanity’s innovative approach to providing housing for the needy around the world.


2001	Jane Fonda. Noted actress and social activist, Ms. Fonda has sustained a consistent life of attempting to better the lives of socio-economically challenged populations. Her notable work in founding the Georgia Campaign for Pregnancy Prevention exemplifies her particular success on behalf of Georgia children..


2000	Roy E. Barnes. Governor of Georgia, Mr. Barnes played a pivotal role in altering the Georgia state flag orginally created to protest the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His progressive views enhanced Georgia's infrastructure and brought appropriate accountability to education at all levels.


1999	William Chace. The current President of Emory University, Dr. Chace began his career teaching at a historically black college in Alabama. He has been using his place in the academy to advance social causes ever since. While on the faculty at Stanford he earned a national reputation for leading a curriculum change creating more learning opportunities about non-Western cultures. He later became President of Connecticut Wesleyan before moving to Emory.


1998	Johnetta Cole. An anthropology professor by training, Dr. Cole was President of Spelman College for many years. Dr. Cole has served on various governmental commissions on violence, youth, and education. She held an endowed Presidential Distinquished Professorship at Emory University where her scholarship and public service continued until her appointment as president of Bennett College.


1997	Austin Ford. One of Atlanta’s most well-known humanitarians, Austin Ford is a Presbyterian minister and founder of Emmaus House. The House provides shelter and food for Atlanta’s homeless. In his role as provider, Father Ford also assumed the role of spokesperson. He was a skillful advocate for the needs of Atlanta’s less fortunate.


1996	David Satcher. The first doctor to become speaker of the year, Dr. David Satcher was the Director of the Center for Disease Control at the time he received the award. At that time, the CDC had developed an international reputation in the fight against disease outbreaks, made enormous contributions to AIDS research, and had begun to define violent crime as a threat to public health. Later that year, Dr. Satcher was named Surgeon General of the United States. He is now Director of the National Center for Primary Care at the Morehouse School of Medicine.


1995	Robert Benham. Robert Benham is the first African-American to serve as Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. Appointed by Governor Zell Miller, Justice Benham has earned a reputation as a fair-minded jurist and has led the Supreme Court with a progressive vision of justice. Nominated by the Emory Chapter, he was later named the National DSR-TKA Speaker of the Year.


1994	Kenny Leon. Kenny Leon is the first artist to receive the award in nearly a decade. Mr. Leon, the resident director of Atlanta’s Alliance Theater, brought instant national acclaim to the Atlanta theater scene with superb direction, casting, and production in the Alliance’s new theater. His appearance on the cover of Time magazine only solidified what he has done for theater in Atlanta.


1993	Frances Pauley. Frances Pauley is a pioneer in the civil rights movement. An outspoken advocate of the poor, the homeless, and the oppressed, Ms. Pauley led civil rights marches on city halls throughout the region and on the state capital. Where she saw injustice and deprivation, she sought remedy and compassion. She is also the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Emory.

1992	Leah Sears. Leah Sears is the first African American woman to serve on the Georgia Supreme Court. She was appointed to the court by Governor Zell Miller and won re-election in her own right. Her progressive jurisprudence has earned her the respect of the legal community.


1991	Edward Turner. Ed Turner was not to be confused with his boss at the time, Ted Turner. Ed Turner was the Executive Vice-President of CNN International. CNN’s coverage of the Iraqi war demonstrated that the world is indeed a much smaller world in the information age, that the world will watch international news events, and that there is a niche for a total news network.


1990	Robert DeHaan. Doctor DeHaan is the Director of the Center for Ethics in Public Policy and the Professions at Emory University who holds an endowed chair as a Professor of Cell Biology. His program is a national model for an interdisciplinary approach to ethical challenges in contemporary society.


1989	Jane O. Hansen. A Pulitzer prize winning journalist, Jane Hansen used the forum of the Atlanta Journal and Constitution to improve the social consciousness of the city and state. Her in-depth investigative reporting, especially regarding women in poverty, children, and the mentally ill, have earned her a national reputation in journalism and public policy.


1988	Robert Stephen Kahn. "Bobby" Kahn is a former Barkley Forum debater who became the Executive Director of the Democratic Party of Georgia and hosted the 1988 Democratic National Convention. He managed the successful Gubernatorial campaigns of Joe Frank Harris and Roy Barnes. He launched a national movement to sue media outlets for overcharging campaigns for political advertisements. He served as the Executive Secretary of Georgia Governor Roy Barnes.


1987	Thomas Glenn Pelham. Awarded posthumously, Glenn Pelham embodied the award he designed, engaging in intelligent, responsible, and effective speech throughout his life’s work. In addition to his well-documented work with the Barkley Forum, Mr. Pelham served as a State Senator in the Georgia State Legislature, as Director of the State Merit System, and as a small claims judge. Georgia debate thrives today and provides excellent educational opportunities for its students in part due to the legacy of Mr. Pelham. He brought quality competition to Georgia and built a program committed to supporting high school debate and underserved populations.


1986	Fletcher Wolfe. As the Founder and Director of the Atlanta Boys Choir, Fletcher Wolfe communicated through music and brought an international reputation to the city of Atlanta. The Atlanta Boys Choir has performed on stages throughout the world. The obvious success of the Choir underscores the Director’s commitment to educational principals designed to improve academic discipline and self-confidence.


1985	John Portman. Architect John Portman is well-known in Atlanta for his office towers and dramatic structures. He is internationally famous for the atrium hotel design reflected in the Peachtree Center Plaza Hotel. Portman attempted to use architecture to connect its users with the world and the atrium hotel, with its emphasis on green space within space, is his most visible legacy.


1984	Ted Turner. Ted Turner is a unique Atlanta success story. He turned his father’s failing billboard business into a modern multi-media corporation launching the first cable television station, channel seventeen, now known as the Superstation. He then added the international cable news network, two other networks, won the America’s cup regatta, kept the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks in town, built an arena and a baseball stadium, and gave a billion dollars to the United Nations. He also debated for McCallie High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one of the first member schools of the Barkley Forum for High Schools.


1983	Lewis Grizzard. Lewis Grizzard was a local writer for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, syndicated columnist, and the author of many books of folk humor. Grizzard was known for his amusing southern stories, lively characters, good sense of humor, and effective communication.


1982	Wyche Fowler, Jr. A former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Wyche Fowler was a member of the US House of Representatives until winning a Senate seat in 1986. Fowler represented Georgia with a progressive voice during his years in the Congress and the US senate.


1981	Mills B. Lane III. Mills Lane is one of the most important developers in the history of metro Atlanta. His work as president of prominent financial institutions, chair of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and civic activist helped define the role of community leadership. His efforts help to negotiate peaceful and progressive solutions during the civil rights crisis of the 1950s and 1960s. His vision helped to secure a progressive future for Atlanta by providing economic opportunity for previously neglected members of the community.


1980	Gudmund Vigtel. Gudmund Vigtel came to Atlanta from Scandinavia and brought instant respect and credibility to the effort to transform the High Museum of Art into a respectable showcase. Under his leadership and his understanding of art as intelligent communication, the High expanded its collection and designed one of the most accessible museums in the world.


1979	Zell Miller. At the time he received the award, Zell Miller had served for many years as Lieutenant Governor in Georgia. This former college professor from Young Harris College in the North Georgia mountains made education commitment the centerpiece of his governorship beginning in 1990. A former competitive debater, Zell is most famous for initiating the HOPE scholarship program for Georgia high school students.


1978	Horace T. Ward. Horace Ward is a federal senior court judge for the Northern District of Georgia. A graduate of Atlanta University, he applied to admission to the University of Georgia Law School. Denied admission for six straight years, he ultimately attended Northwestern University School of Law and returned to Georgia. He later was an attorney in the suit that integrated the University of Georgia. Once one of two dozen African American attorneys in Georgia, today there are thousands of African American lawyers practicing in the state of Georgia.


1977	Robert Shaw. Former conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Shaw vaulted Atlanta into international respectability in music with his appointment as Director of the Symphony. Famous throughout the world as a conductor, Shaw’s commitment to music also included commitment to teaching, especially voice.


1976	Benjamin Elijah Mays. An education professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Benjamin Mays was famous for his innovations in teaching and education. He was an outspoken individual who demanded an end to inequality in education. He recognized that education was the only way out of centuries of deprivation and worked arduously to that end. As a former debater at Bates College in Maine, he recognized the value of debate in the world education.


1975	Jimmy Carter. At the time he received the award, Jimmy Carter was best known as a governor from a rural state. Two years later he was sworn in as President of the United States. He remains an active member of the political and social community, leading commitments to election monitoring, health care for poor nations, subsistence development for small nations, and conflict resolution through the nearby Carter Center of Emory University. His Nobel Prize recognized a life of servant leadership.


1974	Andrew Young. He first came to prominence as a freedom rider attempting to overturn Jim Crow laws which legally enforced segregation. Andrew Young became an advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. and then Governor Jimmy Carter. After serving in Congress, in 1976 he joined the Carter presidency, becoming United States Ambassador to the United Nations. He later served two terms as mayor of Atlanta.


1973	Ellis McDougal. As Director of State Prisons, he instituted humane reforms which increased the rights of those incarcerated, served as a model for other states and launched prison reform in various state and local penal institutions. His role in giving prisons a progressive role exemplifies responsible speech.



1972	Grace T. Hamilton. As a member of another of Atlanta’s prestigious and progressive families, Grace Hamilton was an active community philanthropist and an outspoken supporter of civil rights. She was well known for exerting her influence to advance the cause of civil rights in her role as a State Senator in Georgia.


1971	Bishop John Owen Smith. A methodist minister, Bishop Smith was at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement in Atlanta. He joined forces with various ministries around the city to negotiate solutions to racial problems during the civil rights era and was responsible for integrating the Methodist Church in Georgia.


1970	Elliot H. Levitas. A former U.S. Congressman, Mr. Levitas is an Emory University alumnus and former Barkley Forum debater. Mr. Levitas served two terms in the Congress as part of a long history of public service and progressive views which contributed to Georgia's advancement in race relations and economic growth. He is currently a partner in the law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton.


1969	Ralph McGill. The nationally famous editor of the Atlanta Constitution drew international attention to a progressive Atlanta with his fiery editorials demanding civil rights for African Americans. He worked tirelessly with city leaders, the business community, and minority leaders to generate real civil rights reform within the city of Atlanta.


1968	William H. Burson. Willam Burson was Secretary of State for Georgia who generated economic reform, helped solve Atlanta’s annexation and tax base issues, and advocated for the poor. His dedication to civil service and commitment to the underprivileged demonstrated responsible communication.