Southern Miss to Host Documentary Screening Honoring Civil Rights Leader Vernon Dahmer
Mon, 08/31/2026 - 09:54am | By: Morgan Smith
The University of Southern Mississippi’s School of Media and Communication, in partnership with Mississippi Today and the Dahmer family, will host a documentary screening and community conversation
honoring civil rights leader Vernon Dahmer on Thursday, Sept. 10, in Gonzales Auditorium
on the Hattiesburg campus.
The event comes 60 years after Vernon Dahmer’s death and will feature a conversation
with his son, Dennis Dahmer, filmmaker Charles Stuart and investigative reporter Jerry
Mitchell, along with guests from the School of Media and Communication and School of Humanities.
“We want to honor the legacy of Vernon Dahmer with this screening event,” said Dr.
Andrew Dunn, director of the School of Media and Communication. “Our school is dedicated
to ensuring that we never forget the lessons learned during the civil rights movement
and that we as media professionals accurately document the most important moments
in history."
The evening will begin with a reception at 5 p.m., followed by the program at 6 p.m.
The event will include a screening of "Killed by the Klan," a documentary by Stuart
that aired on A&E in 1999 about Vernon Dahmer’s life. Following the screening, Dr.
Rebecca Turri, associate professor of history in the School of Humanities, will lead
a discussion with Dennis Dahmer, Stuart and Mitchell.
Vernon Dahmer, a Hattiesburg businessman and civil rights leader, served as president
of the Forrest County chapter of the NAACP and was a leading advocate for voting rights
in Mississippi. He led voter registration efforts and worked to help Black residents
exercise their right to vote.
Dennis Dahmer was 12 when he survived the fire that killed his father and later pushed
for the prosecution of those responsible for his death.
Stuart is president of Stuart Productions, which specializes in producing documentaries.
He has 40 years of experience in news programming, live special events and documentary
filmmaking. His work has received five national Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, two
duPont Awards and three regional Emmy Awards.
Mitchell is a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Race Against Time. His
reporting has helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars and helped
free two people from death row. He now leads Mississippi Today’s investigative team.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the School of Media and Communication or the Southern Miss Events Calendar.
About Mississippi Today
Founded in 2016, Mississippi Today is the state's largest newsroom and a trusted source
of independent reporting. Through investigative, explanatory, and accountability journalism,
Mississippi Today serves communities across the state with in-depth coverage of government,
education, health care, justice, and the issues shaping Mississippi. A winner of the
2023 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, Mississippi Today is the flagship newsroom
of Deep South Today, a nonprofit network dedicated to strengthening local journalism
across the South.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences at The University of Southern Mississippi is home to 13 schools, two ROTC units,
and more than 100 academic programs. Guided by the University’s mission, we educate
students, lead the state and nation in research and the creative arts, and advance
knowledge across the humanities, social sciences, and STEM. Through innovative research
and nationally recognized student success, we provide pathways to understanding the
past, solving today's challenges, and imagining the possibilities of tomorrow.