'Picking Cotton' Authors Teach the Healing Power of Forgiveness

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 5, 2015) — For seven years, the University of Kentucky’s Common Reading Experience (CRE) has challenged new students with enthralling, controversial and thought-provoking books to read the summer before their move to campus and to engage in group discussions and events once classes begin. The 2015-2016 book, “Picking Cotton,” by Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton with Erin Torneo is no exception; it is the true account of a life-threatening sexual assault, the imprisonment of an innocent man and the redemption both victims eventually earn.

The campus and Lexington community is invited to the highlight of CRE’s academic year — the annual authors’ lecture — at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at Memorial Coliseum.

“The Common Reading Experience is an opportunity to join in the shared exploration of a single book,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “We’re excited to welcome Jennifer and Ronald to our campus as we continue engaging in an important academic dialogue about its themes on assault, unconscious bias, reconciliation and our humanity.”

The New York Times bestseller, “Picking Cotton,” has received continual attention since it was published in 2009, due primarily to the social issues it addresses with sensitivity and honesty — racial prejudice, sexual assault, eyewitness identification, a flawed court system, prison life, forgiveness and redemption. The book is considered controversial by some; it comes with a trigger warning that it could be upsetting for some readers.

“We are so excited about this year’s Common Reading Experience book, ‘Picking Cotton’,” said Kasey Borchardt, assistant director of New Student and Family Programs and coordinator of the CRE program. “The book encompasses powerful themes of forgiveness and resiliency, and it also allows us to have courageous conversations around the important topics of sexual assault, racial injustice, and bias in the criminal justice system.”

For WUKY reporter Chase Cavanaugh’s “Bookmarks” interview with Jennifer Thompson, visit http://wuky.org/post/picking-cotton-story-sexual-assault-wrongful-imprisonment-and-reconciliation .

Thompson and Cotton now work together as vocal activists, combatting sexual violence; advocating judicial reform, including the abolition of the death penalty and acceptance of the fallibility of eyewitness testimony; and proclaiming the healing power of forgiveness.  Together, they have successfully lobbied state legislators to change compensation laws for the wrongly convicted, to abolish the death penalty, to revise police eyewitness line-up procedures, and for many other causes. They speak frequently at schools, conferences and various advisory committees.

“We need to remove the anger and the hate and really start working on figuring out solutions to the problems,” Thompson said during her WUKY interview.

Borchardt agreed, pointing out that the authors’ commitment to societal and personal change was one reason the CRE committee chose “Picking Cotton.”

“UK has an incredible opportunity with this book, given current events in our nation, to engage students, faculty and staff in a campus-wide discussion and keep the conversation going with our year-long programming efforts,” she said.

UK junior Ann Baillie of Lemont, Illinois, agreed, "Every day, in the news, on social media and around campus, we hear debate and discussion on the same issues presented in ‘Picking Cotton.’ Yet, what the book does that those other sources do not do is turn those issues into positive lessons on friendship, resilience and forgiveness. It is these lessons that I am excited to hear Jennifer and Ronald talk about, and these are the lessons I hope everyone learns from the Common Reading Experience program."

"The Common Reading Experience … unites not only the students and faculty, but it extends to our community and embraces the diversification of Lexington,” said Alyssa Miller, a senior from Collinsville, Illinois. “The CRE is vital to this campus because it promotes unity, encourages higher-inquiry thinking, promotes global and local knowledge, and extends a helping hand to struggling students.

“Personally, the Common Reading Experience has molded me into the student and person I am today,” Miller added. “I could not be more excited to learn from Jennifer and Ronald, because I know their experiences will allow me to see things from new perspectives, which will help me develop into a better person. Learning new things and being exposed to different experiences only helps me become the best version of myself I can be.  

“The Common Reading Experience makes my heart happy because it unites this town and this university; it creates a bond that is unlike any other because it weaves together academic, social, and individual elements into one.” 

CRE is a collaborative effort shared by New Student and Family Programs, Student Affairs, Undergraduate Education and other campus partners and designed to introduce new students to academic life at UK. The goal is two-fold: first, to bring new students together for a common reading experience that introduces them to academic discourse prior to the start of classes; and second, to engage the entire UK community in a common intellectual experience through yearlong programming.

New students quickly learn that reading the book is not the end of the Common Reading Experience; it is in fact the beginning of a full year of campus-wide curricular integration and co-curricular programming. (See the remaining CRE schedule below.)

Author Lecture: Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton

Oct. 8, at 7 p.m., Memorial Coliseum

Sponsored by New Student and Family Programs

Green Dot/Bystander Intervention Overview

Oct. 13, at 4 p.m., VIP Center

Sponsored by the Violence Intervention & Prevention Center

#UKindaWanna: Make the World a Better Place

Oct. 13 at 4 p.m., 101 Stuckert Career Center

Sponsored by the Stuckert Career Center and Undergraduate Studies

A Night with Dr. Terrell Strayhorn

Oct. 26 at 7 p.m., Memorial Hall

Sponsored by the Martin Luther King Center

#ConsentCulture

Oct. 29 at 5 p.m., VIP Center

Sponsored by the Violence Intervention & Prevention Center

Beverly Gooden: #WhyIStayed Lecture

Nov. 11 at 6 p.m., Seay Auditorium

Sponsored by the Student Activities Board

“Dear White People,” a Late Night Film Series Movie

Nov. 18 at 7 p.m., Memorial Hall

Sponsored by the Martin Luther King Center

Soup and Substance Discussion of “Dear White People”

Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m., 208 White Hall Classroom Building

Sponsored by the Martin Luther King Center

MEDIA CONTACT: Gail Hairston, 859-257-3302, gail.hairston@uky.edu