Southeastern Louisiana University

2009 James H. Morrison Lecturer Selected

The James H. Morrison Lecture in Politics and Government, which honors the memory of the late Congressman “Jimmy” Morrison, has featured some of Louisiana’s most important political figures, including John Breaux, Mary Landrieu, and Jay Dardenne.  This year Mike Strain Louisiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry will deliver the lecture.  Before becoming Ag Secretary, Strain served in the state legislature.  Strain is also a seventeen year veteran of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office Reserve Force.  A graduate of Louisiana State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, he has been a member of the Rural Legislative Task Force and Parish officer for the Louisiana Cattlemen’s Association.  Since taking office, Strain has worked tirelessly to help Louisiana farmers rebound from the devastating consequences of recent hurricanes.  We are pleased that he has agreed to speak and look forward to what will surely be a powerful presentation.  Be on the lookout for additional information on the Morrison Lecture which is scheduled for Thursday, April 2, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. in the Student Union Theater.

2009 Morrison Lecture

Featuring Mike Strain,

Louisiana's Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry

Sponsored by the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies and the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Southeastern Louisiana University at the War Memorial Student Union Theater,

Thurs., April 2, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. 

Jimmy Morrison   

James Hobson Morrison was born in Hammond, Louisiana, on December 8, 1908. His parents were Benjamin M. Morrison, a local merchant and banker, and Florence Hobson of Greensboro, Alabama. He had two sisters, Sally Pearson (Mrs. Harry B. Lee) and Margaret Williams (Mrs. Benjamin E. Pierce). His uncle, Richmond Pearson Hobson, was a Spanish-American War naval hero and later served in Congress from Alabama.Morrison was educated in the public schools of Hammond and received his law degree from Tulane University in 1934. That same year he was admitted to the bar and began his law practice in Hammond. In 1937, as attorney for the newly organized Louisiana Farmers Protective Union, he composed their charter and began a promotion campaign for them which made him the hero of union members in the strawberry belt. In 1940 Morrison married Marjorie Abbey of Webb, Mississippi. They have two sons, James Hobson, Jr., and Benjamin Abbey. Drawn to politics as a career, Morrison ran unsuccessfully for state senator in 1936 and for governor in 1940 and 1944, but his race for a seat in the seventy-eighth Congress was successful. He was reelected eleven times, serving from January 3, 1943 until January 3, 1967 as Representative from Louisiana’s Sixth District. In retirement, Morrison practiced law in his hometown where he was active in civic affairs. He donated his Congressional papers to Southeastern Louisiana University’s Archives and Special Collections. His invaluable photographic collection of national leaders, family, friends, campaigns, and other events, and furnishings from his Congressional office, are on display on the third floor of Linus A. Sims Memorial Library in the Morrison Room. A patron of the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies and supporter of Southeastern Louisiana University, “Mr. Jimmie” succumbed to a long illness on July 20, 2000. In 1995, Dr. John Miller, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, inaugurated an annual lecture series honoring the long-time Florida Parishes congressman. Each year, the James H. Morrison Lecture on Politics and Government presents national, state and local political leaders exploring critical and topical events pertaining to public policy. Sponsored by the Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies along with the College of Arts and Sciences, the Morrison lecture honors the late James H. “Jimmy” Morrison, the Hammond native who represented Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1943-1967.

Previous speakers of the Morrison Lecture Series have included U.S. Senators John Breaux and Mary Landrieu, U.S. Representatives W.J. “Billy” Tauzin, state Senators John Hainkel and Melvin “Kip” Holden, state Representative Henry “Tank” Powell, Public Service Commissioner Jack A. “Jay” Blossman, international financier Maurice Templesman and Congresswoman Lindy Boggs.