Dr. Walter Allen, Sr. grew up in Allendale, South Carolina where he learned how to play the trumpet in his high school band. He began his music career as a teenager by playing in a variety of bands, including the military band during his service in…
John Vaughn was born in Rome, Georgia during the 1930s. Vaughn attended Morris Brown College and served in the Korean War as a battalion engineer. Vaughn taught in Summerville, Mississippi and has participated in the civil rights initiatives of…
Milton Raven was born in Plains, Georgia in 1931 though he grew up in Archery, Georgia as the youngest of five brothers. In this interview, Raven describes his upbringing, college education, work in the Army and his career as a teacher and principal.…
Emogene Williams talks with her daughter Avis about her early life and family, growing up during the Great Depression in Covington, Georgia. She talks about what life was like for African Americans in rural Georgia, describing her memories of the KKK…
Neal Lester is a professor of English at the University of Arizona focusing on African-American literature and theater. He discusses growing up in the South, his increasing awareness of race with age, and his views regarding white allyship,…
Harry Sims grew up in Athens, Georgia and received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. He taught at David C. Barrow Elementary before retiring and served as Athens City Commissioner before running for mayor. In this interview, Sims…
Fannie Smith was born in Oglethorpe County, GA and, as a child, moved with her family to Athens, GA, where she remained the rest of her life. In this interview she talks about integrating Clarke County schools, working through high school and…
Lora Smothers, though not born and raised in Athens, felt compelled to do something about the Black education crisis in the community. Her own experiences in school, college, and graduate school made it clear to her that Black education was becoming…
LaKeisha Gantt was born in Athens in 1978, where she attended elementary through high school. In her undergraduate years, Gantt knew that she wanted to help people, but wasn’t sure how; through graduate school and upon completing her Ph.D in…
Patricia Clifton was born and raised in Miami, Florida, moved frequently during her early adulthood, and moved permanently to Athens in 1976. In this interview, Clifton shares about her experiences working for Clarke County Public Schools and as the…
Ethel Johnson was born in Athens in 1940, where she grew up and attended West Broad, Reese Street, and Athens Industrial and High School. In this interview, Johnson relates her experiences from grade school to graduate school. She talks about her…
Continuing from her first interview, Ethel Johnson discusses her time in graduate school and from her career. In this interview, Johnson shares her experiences with integration as a teacher and how she became more involved in social services as her…
Jessica Johnson was born in Athens in 1969, where she attended Alps Road Elementary School, Burney-Harris Middle School, and Clarke Central High School. Johnson earned her undergraduate degree from North Carolina Central University and her graduate…
Phyllis Juliette Quick Stewart was born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina but has spent the majority of her adult life in Georgia. She was a life-long educator, beginning as an elementary school teacher and retiring as elementary school…
Valdon Daniel was raised in Broadacres Homes and attended West Broad Elementary School, to which he walked every day with his older siblings. Daniel loved math, and spent much of his adult career teaching mathematics in elementary school. In this…
Joyce Ervin was born and raised in Athens, Georgia. She has dedicated her life to working in education and community outreach. Ervin is the current CEO of Joyce Ervin’s Open Heart Center, an organization focused on providing assistance and education…
Angela Jackson was born in Athens in 1960 and attended several schools around the county growing up. Many of Jackson’s family were educators, and so education became an important part of her life. In this interview, Jackson discusses her experience…
Xernona Thomas was born in Athens in 1969 to a loving home in which she admits she was spoiled by attention. She was the first Black student to be enrolled in Athens Academy, but she finished her education within the Clarke County school system. In…
Aurelia Scott was born and raised in Linden, New Jersey before moving to Athens, Georgia. Scott has devoted her life to being an educator and an active member of her community. In this interview, Scott discusses her childhood in New Jersey, her…
Charles Stroud was born in Athens in 1939 to a tight-knit community. Stroud describes many of the neighborhood figures of his childhood as cousins, uncles, or aunts, even if they weren’t related by blood. Stroud was an educator in Macon and Athens…
Content Warning: This interview contains racial slurs.Tony Rucker was born near Commerce in 1953 and grew up playing piano and saxophone. He attended the University of Georgia for his undergraduate and masters’ degrees before attending Florida State…
Charles Worthy was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. He attended Alabama State University in Montgomery, meeting his wife during his time there, and later moved to Athens for work. In this interview, he talks about his journey from a youth in…
William James Breeding, Jr. was born in Dalton, Georgia and spent his youth there. He experienced how the schools in Greene County handled integration, and found success in athletics there and beyond at the University of Georgia. In this interview,…
Deryl Bailey, born in 1960 in North Carolina, was raised by a single mother and his grandparents. He attended the University of Virginia, among other institutions. In this interview, Bailey reflects on his academic journey, from disliking school as a…
Patricia Barron was born in 1954 and raised in Atlanta. She attended Mercer University and Georgetown Law. In this interview, Barron recalls her journey to law school, mentioning that she knew from young she would be a lawyer. Additionally, she talks…
Earnest Thompson was born in 1935 in Charleston, South Carolina. He was raised through the Great Depression and gives a look into what childhood was like in that era. In this interview, Thompson details his life, his career, and his views, providing…
Odella Thompson was born in Athens, Georgia in 1942. She attended West Broad School, Reese Street School, and graduated from Athens High and Industrial School. She received a degree in English from Oakwood College. In this interview, Thompson…
Gwendolyn Stevens was born in Athens, Georgia in 1961. She is currently enjoying retirement after a long career in education. In this interview she discusses her upbringing in Athens, including her experiences with desegregation in elementary school…
Bessie Little Hinton was born in Aliceville, Alabama in 1956 into a large family. She went through the Aliceville education system, participated in Upward Bound at Stillman College, and after graduation from Aliceville High School, pursued a degree…
Shundra Caldwell was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1969. She was raised there alongside her cousin by her aunt, mother, and grandmother. In 1987 she graduated from Callaway High School and enrolled in Tougaloo College. In 1992, Caldwell and her…
Dr. James Washington, Jr. was born in 1950 in Perry, Florida, and was raised there throughout his early education. This first part of his interview provides a look into segregated Florida and his lived experience of Jim Crow and racism in the South.…
Dr. Frankie Hill was born in 1950, and was raised in Florida alongside a large family. In this interview, Hill tells her story, beginning from entering first grade at an early age to serving in administrative positions in the Clarke County School…
Sharon Cooper was born in Athens, Georgia in 1956. She was a member of the second class to graduate from Cedar Shoals High School, and after graduation she married her husband and they have been together ever since. She attended the University of…
Patricia Huff was born in 1948 in Athens, Georgia. She was raised in the Reese Street community and attended Reese Street Elementary and North Athens Elementary. She then went to Athens High and Industrial / Burney-Harris High School, before…
Gloria Little was born in Athens, Georgia in 1932, and grew up on John Street in East Athens. In her youth, she attended historic Athens Black schools like East Athens Elementary, Reese Street School, and Athens High and Industrial before enrolling…
Harrison Dowdy was born in 1947 and was raised in Madison County, Georgia. He attended Wagner Grove Church School and Southside High School in Comer, Georgia before attending technical school. He then joined the Air Force as a machinist during the…
Phyllis Drayton was born in Athens, Georgia in 1956, and raised in the East Side neighborhood. In this interview she discusses her childhood on the East Side, her family, and her experiences in segregated and integrated schools. She also talks about…
Hull was born in Athens, Georgia where he was first introduced to music through the Hill Chapel Baptist Church. Hull has worked with music his whole life, though his degree is in Education and Family Development. He currently works as the Clarke…
Walter Allen, Sr. grew up in Allendale, South Carolina, in the era of Jim Crow. The area was a close knit farming community, and Allen recalls learning principles of responsibility and discipline from his parents, neighbors, and teachers at Allendale…
Dr. Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje grew up in Jesup, Georgia, learning piano from an early age. She attended Boggs Academy, Fisk University, and the Hampton Institute. She is currently a professor and the Chair of Ethnomusicology at the University of…
Robert Lawrence has worked as a music teacher at Clarke Central High School for many years. Despite originally majoring in marine biology at Troy University, Lawrence has found joy in the teaching profession throughout his years. In this interview,…
Mary Frances Early is a music teacher in Georgia and was the first African American to graduate from the University of Georgia. Early discusses her path to teaching, her early teaching experiences, why she stayed in the profession for so long, and…
Zandra Bell-McRoy is a band director at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, Georgia. Dr. Bell-McRoy discusses the demographics of the school, the school’s band program, and her path to teaching music. She also talks about her teacher training, why…
Jennifer Floyd was a high school orchestra teacher in Georgia for 16 years. She taught at Lovejoy High School in Clayton County, Brookwood High School in Gwinnett County, and McEachern High School in Cobb County.
Mr. Jackson is a retired Orchestra Teacher from the Kirkwood School District in Kirkwood, Missouri, after having taught there for 30 years. He currently teaches strings part time in the same school district.
Anoa Green is Director of Wind Studies at the Baltimore School for the Arts in the Baltimore, Maryland City School District.This interview was recorded remotely.
Michael Kobito is Director of Bands at Woodland High School in Cartersville, GA and the 2022 Georgia Teacher of the Year.This interview was recorded remotely.
Cynthia Terry taught public school music for 29 years, 27 years in Atlanta and 2 years in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Terry also served as Director of Fine and Performing Arts for the Atlanta Public Schools for 9 years.This interview was recorded…
Sharon Phillips is a retired music teacher of the Atlanta Public Schools. She taught at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School for 30 years.This interview was recorded remotely.
Armand Peterson was a middle school music teacher at Bladensburgh High School in Prince George, Maryland for 5 years. He is now an assistant middle school principal in Prince George, MD.This interview was recorded remotely.
Johnny Goodrum was born in Griffin-Spalding County in Georgia during the years of segregation. As a child, Goodrum attended multiple schools in the area including Broad Street School, Cabin Creek Elementary and Fairmont High School. Goodrum later…
Jean Walker-Harps was born in 1939 and grew up on a farm in Glenville, Georgia. She attended Morris-Brown College and in 1961, she moved to Griffin, Georgia where she worked as a teacher at Fairmont High School. During the Civil Rights Movement,…
Charlotte Eady was born in Blackshear, Georgia, and grew up during mandatory integration, being one of first three African American students at her high school. Eady works as an associate professor of education leadership at Jacksonville State…
William Walker was born in Wetumpka, Alabama and came to Griffin, Georgia in 1959 to teach at Moore Elementary School. Walker later became the first black president of the newly integrated Griffin Middle School before he took a position in the…
Walter Pyron was born in Griffin, Georgia and attended Anna Shockley Elementary during the years of segregation. Pyron additionally worked as the band director for Griffin High School before becoming the assistant principal of Futral Road Elementary…
Genether Spurlock was born in 1951 in Enid, Mississippi. She grew up chopping cotton before attending college and becoming a teacher. She served as the mayor of Tutwiler and works as the Education Coordinator at the Tutwiler Community Education…
Herman Johnson was born in 1929 in Gilbert, Louisiana. His parents were sharecroppers, and he grew up working on farms. He graduated from Southern University and served in the Army. Johnson worked with Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance Company, taught…
Cornelius Wadsworth Grant was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1932. He attended FAMU College of Law after serving three years in the U.S. Army. Grant went on to teach at FAMU and Albany State. In this interview, he discusses the racial limitations…
