Two Mississippi Museums will present The Whiskey Speech: Soggy Sweat and the Power of Storytelling at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 17, in the Craig H. Neilson Auditorium, the museum said.
The 57-minute documentary, directed by David Crews, includes material from more than 50 interviews, the museum said. Interviewees include authors and public figures such as John Grisham, musician Marty Stuart and journalist Curtis Wilkie.
The free screening will be followed by a panel discussion that the museum said will include Crews, Sen. Hob Bryan and Peyton Prospere. The museum provided a contact phone number for more information: (601) 576-6850.
The film examines Mississippi’s long history with prohibition and the legacy of alcohol laws in the state, the museum said. It focuses on Judge Noah S. “Soggy” Sweat, who delivered the original “Whiskey Speech” to the state Legislature on April 4, 1952, at the King Edward Hotel in Jackson. Sweat, born in Alcorn County in 1922, served one term as a state senator and as a judge and founded the Mississippi Judicial College at the University of Mississippi, the documentary says.
In the speech, Sweat presented both sides of the alcohol debate with humor. He told lawmakers, “If when you say whiskey you mean the devil’s brew … then certainly I am against it. But, if when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation … then certainly I am for it. This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise,” according to the original address cited in the film.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
