Abraham Lincoln will be on campus this week — at least his look-a-like will be. 
To commemorate the American Civil War sesquicentennial, the Symposium on Lincoln: the Movie and the Man will be held Monday and Tuesday. The event will include a showing of the 2012 motion picture as well as a panel discussion and lectures from notable speakers including Frank Williams, a former Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice, and George Buss, a nationally acclaimed Lincoln character actor. All events are free and open to the public.
The Office of the President Mark E. Keenum, Mitchell Memorial Library, the Grant Presidential Library, African American Studies and Shackouls Honors College sponsor the symposium.
Frances Coleman, dean of libraries, said the symposium is an excellent opportunity for people to learn about the history and the man.
“Those of us from the South might not know as much as we need or would like to know about Lincoln,” Coleman said.
During the symposium, speakers will separate Hollywood magic and history facts using the 2012 epic historical drama “Lincoln.”
Stephen Cunetto, MSU Libraries’ administrator of systems, said the movie is important to see because it reflects a time in our country that changed the course of history.
 “Those issues that are dealt with in the movie are still being dealt with today and had certain ramifications for how things changed,” Cunetto said. “Lincoln certainly was influential in that.”
Lincoln, the movie, sparked the idea of the symposium.
John Marszalek, a retired MSU Giles Distinguished Professor Emeritus and executive director and managing editor of the U.S. Grant Association, said Rhonda Keenum, President Keenum’s wife, created the idea of the symposium.
“The whole idea for the symposium came from a dinner when Chief Justice Williams was here and was giving a lecture at the library,” Marszalek said. “During the course of the conversation, the Lincoln movie had just become a big deal, and we were talking about it. Mrs. Keenum said, ‘It would be great if we could do something to make sure the students got to see this, and we could talk about what it was like.’”
Since then, several campus offices have become involved in the creation of the event.
The symposium will begin with a showing of “Lincoln” Monday starting at 7p.m. in McCool Hall’s Taylor Auditorium.
On Tuesday, historians including Marszalek will present lectures related to the movie and Lincoln.
John Middleton, MSU history professor and leader of the African American studies program, will give a lecture on Lincoln and the Thirteenth Amendment. 
“I happen to think Lincoln is the greatest president this country has ever had, especially from the African American perspective,” Middleton said. “If you are going to truly understand this country and why we should embrace the opportunities and the liberties that we have, it is important to understand Lincoln and what he did for the country with the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.”
A press conference with Lincoln is scheduled for Tuesday as one of the events. Buss, as Lincoln, will deliver the famous “Gettysburg Address.” A panel discussion moderated by Sid Salter, University Relations director, will follow. 
Marszalek said he plans on walking Buss around campus to see how many students are startled by the presence of the important president — or at least his look-a-like.
A goal of the symposium is to show people Lincoln’s ongoing influence.
Ravi Perry, political science and public administration professor and member of the African American studies faculty, said Lincoln is an obvious choice, especially in terms of the South and MSU.
“MSU is an ideal place to have such a symposium. It is simple to see that the movie was a huge blockbuster success, and so it is a great opportunity to use it as an educational tool,” Perry said. “Lincoln, in his era, has had a significant reverberating effect on our politics, and Lincoln is also President Obama’s favorite president as he aims to be as transformational in the modern era as Lincoln.”
Lincoln’s influence can still be seen today. His push to end the disenfranchisement of African Americans while granting equality in the Civil Rights Amendments has developed to modern issues.
“It has been extended significantly to be applicable to other groups of people: women, presidential candidates, persons of the LGBT-community and to the poor populations,” Perry said.
For more information about the Symposium on Lincoln: the Movie and the Man and its event schedule, visit guides.library.msstate.edu/lincoln.