Meet AHA’s 2026 honorees

August 5, 2026 — The Alabama Humanities Alliance announced today its 2026 Alabama Colloquium series, which will recognize Alabamians who have made their mark in music, literature, history, and democracy. Honorees will be recognized at a pair of events this fall, to be held in Montevallo, on October 12, and Birmingham, on October 19.

Among this year’s awardees are seven new Alabama Humanities Fellows; the title represents the highest humanities honor bestowed in the state of Alabama.

This year’s Alabama Humanities Fellows are:

• Bill Baxley, J.D., Dothan native and former attorney general of Alabama, best known for prosecuting the state’s first cases against individuals associated with the Ku Klux Klan
• Kathryn Braund, Ph.D., of Dadeville, is an author, professor, and one of the South’s preeminent scholars of Creek and early American history
• Emmylou Harris, Birmingham native, is a 14-time Grammy winner and one of the most iconic figures in the history of folk/Americana music
• Ashley M. Jones, of Birmingham, is an award-winning author, past poet laureate of Alabama, and founding director of the Magic City Poetry Festival
• Will Kimbrough, native of Mobile, is an acclaimed musician and songwriter, as well as a contibutor to the veterans initiative, SongwritingWith:Soldiers
• Randy Owen, of Fort Payne, is a legendary country artist whose songs with the band Alabama have spread Southern storytelling across the world
• Fred Wesley, Mobile native and Montgomery resident, is a renowned jazz/funk musician who was James Brown’s bandleader and lead trombonist with Parliament-Funkadelic

OTHER HONOREES

This year’s AHA Champion of the Humanities Award recipient is the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission. This honor recognizes individuals or organizations for their charitable contributions or public policy support to advance the humanities across Alabama. In 2026, the Commission led Alabama’s statewide celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, aiming to educate, engage, and unite Alabamians around our nation’s founding principles and the pursuit of a more perfect union. Crucially, the Commission also provided $675,000 in grants to hundreds of municipalities, county commissions, and nonprofit organizations — making 250 celebrations possible across all 67 counties.

The 2026 Wayne and Sally Greenhaw Service to the Humanities Award recipient is Joyce Cauthen. This honor recognizes individuals who have made substantive contributions to the work of the Alabama Humanities Alliance specifically and to the public humanities generally in Alabama. Cauthen served as founding director of the Alabama Folklife Association and is a renowned expert on folk music traditions in Alabama. She is a founding member of AHA’s Road Scholars Speakers Bureau, presenting talks in communities across the state for nearly four decades. Cauthen has authored multiple books, including, most recently, The Ballad of Fiddling Tom Freeman: Music, Moonshine, and Murder in Bug Tussle, Alabama.

ALABAMA COLLOQUIUM EVENT DETAILS

Alabama Colloquium I: “Considering America at 250”
October 12, 2026 | 11:30am
American Village | Montevallo
Note: This is an invitation-only event.

American Village’s campus will serve as the backdrop for a conversation considering America at 250, highlighting our Fellows’ efforts to document, examine, and help to make real the promise embedded in America’s Declaration of Independence.

Program highlights:

• A conversation between our newest Alabama Humanities Fellows: attorney and public servant Bill Baxley, historian Kathryn Braund, and poet Ashley M. Jones
• Presentations of awards to our Fellows, by the Hon. Myron Thompson (Baxley), Dr. Wayne Flynt (Braund), and Dr. Jacqueline Trimble (Jones)
• Honoring the Alabama USA Semiquincentennial Commission as 2026 AHA Champion of the Humanities
• Recognizing Joyce Cauthen as 2026 Greenhaw Service to the Humanities awardee

Note that attendance for this event is by invitation; a recording will be made available for online viewing.

Alabama Colloquium II: “Celebrating the Music of America, Made in Alabama”
October 19, 2026 | 6:30pm
Lyric Theatre | Birmingham
Note: Tickets are on sale via the Lyric Theatre’s website. The Lyric is a Ticketmaster venue.

On the stage of Birmingham’s historic Lyric Theatre, we’ll gather to celebrate the contributions of four iconic Alabama musicians to American storytelling and culture. Each honoree will share stories, and a selection of songs, from their careers.

Program highlights:

• A short set of music, featuring songs performed by each of our newest Alabama Humanities Fellows: Emmylou Harris, Will Kimbrough, Randy Owen, and Fred Wesley
• A conversation between our Fellows, moderated by Burgin Mathews, founding director of the Southern Music Research Center
• Presentations of awards to our Fellows, by Allison Moorer (Harris), Kate Campbell (Kimbrough), the Hon. Nathaniel Ledbetter (Owen), and Coleman Woodson Jr. (Wesley)

Venue details and tickets for this public event are now on sale via the Lyric Theatre and Ticketmaster.

The Alabama Colloquium series is made possible thanks to the support of many, including our 2026 presenting sponsor, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.

About the Alabama Colloquium
Each year, the Alabama Humanities Alliance presents the Alabama Colloquium to celebrate how the humanities lift up our state and bring Alabamians together. We also bestow the title of Alabama Humanities Fellow on individuals whose outstanding work in the humanities has positively impacted our state, nation, and world.

The Alabama Colloquium is typically a one-time event each year. In 2026, AHA presents a two-part series, in part to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. This year’s more robust slate of awards also includes honorees that AHA intended to recognize last year. AHA had to cancel its 2025 Alabama Colloquium due to a DOGE-initiated revoking of federal funding for Alabama Humanities, and all other state humanities councils across the nation.

About the Alabama Humanities Alliance
Founded in 1974, the nonprofit and nonpartisan Alabama Humanities Alliance has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. AHA promotes impactful storytelling, lifelong learning and civic engagement. Through our programs and grantmaking, we provide Alabamians with opportunities to connect with each other, with our shared history, and with the vibrant and complex communities we call home. Learn more at alabamahumanities.org.