George Washington Carver National Monument Announces Guest Speakers for 81st Annual Carver Day Celebration on July 13

(Diamond, MO) –  George Washington Carver National Monument is pleased to announce that Alex Primm and Edith Powell will the special guest speakers for the 81st Carver Day celebration. Carver Day is Saturday, July 13, 2024, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Carver Day celebrates the life of George Washington Carver and the establishment of the national monument in his honor. This year commemorates the 81st anniversary of George W. Carver’s passing and the subsequent establishment of the national park on July 14, 1943, the first to honor an African American. Mr. Primm with speak at 11:00 a.m. and Ms. Powell at 1:00 p.m. The event is free of charge.

• Alex Primm has been an oral historian for over 40 years in the Ozarks. He also served as a correspondent in Vietnam, director of the Ozark Agriculture Museum, awarding-winning producer of regional videos, oral history teacher in mainland China, and is a speaker with the Missouri Humanities Council Speakers Bureau Program. Primm is the author of Ozarks Voices: Oral Histories from the Heartland. He will share a presentation entitled Missouri’s Natural Heroes, which includes George Washington Carver
• Dr. Edith Powell is a retired professor of immunology and hematology at Tuskegee University. A native of Tuskegee, Alabama she has a lifelong interest in the history of the town and university. She is also an independent research consultant on George Washington Carver for the Tuskegee University Archives. Powell will share a presentation on her recent book entitled, More Than Peanuts, The Unlikely Partnership of Tom Huston and George Washington Carver. Following her presentation, Dr. Powell will host a brief book signing in the visitor center lobby.

Other activities are scheduled throughout the day including exhibitors, musical performances, guided tours, educational programs, peanut milk demonstrations, activities for kids, Junior Ranger station, and much more. The Diamond Lions Club will provide food concessions.

Carver Day celebrates the African American experience through speakers, storytelling, music, and educational programs. In keeping with Carver’s legacy of accessible and affordable education, Carver Day, like all our programs, is free of charge. Carver Day is presented in partnership with the Carver Birthplace Association.