Gregory Wilkins’ Speech That Felt Like Sitting on a Cactus
Quinn Bonney | April 27, 2023
The undergraduate awards ceremony is a time to acknowledge and celebrate Warren Wilson College (WWC) students. Awards were given out to students who excelled in their academic major, service and work. The experience was lighthearted, but also authentically wholesome to watch professors tear up with pride when describing their student’s accomplishments.
This was my second student award ceremony since arriving at WWC. Last year, I attended to acknowledge the previous Echo newspaper editors in their efforts to revive the dormant newspaper. Award ceremonies can be dull at times but this was the exception; teachers dolled out anecdotes with their awards, detailing thoughtful reflections on each student's contributions to WWC.
The whole event was a success. After all the awards were given out, however, resident artist at Warren Wilson Gregory Wilkins was asked to speak. I was not sure why, or what the purpose of his speaking was. After hearing what he had to say, that hasn't changed; Wilkins gave a speech that left many in the audience feeling uncomfortable, confused and disrespected.
Notably, a significant portion of the room left as Wilkins came up to speak. There’s been an emerging consistent trend across campus gatherings of Wilkins repeatedly speaking at events in which his input seems out of place. I don’t say this to encourage a socially exclusive dynamic at student events, but rather to point out some key misgivings about his intent that many students share. In many opportunities he has to speak with students, regardless of topic or situation, he often monopolizes the discussion with personal anecdotes and a repeated, stylized retelling of his early life achievements and rags-to-riches story.
When engaged in Jeff Keith’s Appalachian studies class, we discuss in-depth the meanings and ramifications of stereotypes. We frequently examine historic media-driven stereotypes of Appalachia that are extremely damaging to the region. This class has been one of the academic highlights of WWC. Wilkins’ speech is a reminder of the need for constant education and understanding of the diversity and complexity of the communities and cultures that make up Appalachia.
To wrap up the awards ceremony, Wilkins decided to tell a lengthy Appalachian-stylized fable-type success story about “Maw”, “Paw”, “Liza-Jane and John-Boy'' sitting on the “swingin’ porch”, talking about a “dog sittin' on a cactus”, all told through a performative parody of an Appalachian accent that bordered at points uncomfortably close to AAVE. As he is from the Midwest, Wilkins does not use this specific dialect regularly in conversation; this choice left a sour taste.
The whole tone of the speech felt like putting Appalachian people into a box of laziness and humor. The speech was not only out of touch but also insensitive and offensive. Appalachia is a diverse and rich region with its own unique history, culture and traditions. However, Wilkins’ speech portrayed the people of the region in a negative light, reinforcing stereotypes about poverty, ignorance and backwardness.
There is a boundary between jest and humor within a community, and making fun of a culture. During his speech, Wilkins asked the question we all wondered: “What does this have to do with students getting awards and being honored today?” We’re all still wondering.