Tyrone L. Brooks was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1980. He has sat on numerous committees, including Economic Development and Tourism, Governmental Affairs and Retirement, and Appropriations. Brooks has served as…
Lonnie King was born in Arlington, Georgia. He was raised in Atlanta and served in the U.S. Navy. He left the Navy in 1957, returned to Atlanta, and earned his degree from Morehouse College. In 1960 he was present at the founding of the Student…
Thomas Houck dropped out of high school at age 15 and joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to work under Hosea Williams. In 1965, he met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at a meeting of the SCLC, and in 1966 he came to Atlanta and became…
Willie Bolden was born in Sumter, South Carolina on December 7, 1938. and was raised in Savannah, Georgia. He is best known for his work as a civil rights activist. In this interview, Bolden discusses his activity with the Southern Christian…
Julian Bond was a civil rights activist who held leadership roles in several organizations, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored…
John Lewis is best known for his civil rights activism in the 1960s and, since 1986, his work as a U.S. Representative. In this interview John Lewis discusses his early years in rural Alabama and his work as a civil rights leader and U.S.…
Jenniffer Jones interviews her mother, Dawn Bennett-Alexander, about her early life in Washington D.C., including Bennett-Alexander's experiences during segregation and her memories of attending the March on Washington in 1963. Bennett-Alexander also…
Geneva Johnson Blasingame discusses the Linnentown, also known as Lindentown, community and Black neighborhoods in Athens, Georgia. She recalls the University’s efforts to push out black communities in 1962. Blasingame comments on the children…
Bennie McKinley was born in Athens, Georgia in 1945 and grew up in segregated neighborhoods in Athens. She attended Reese Street School and Athens High and Industrial School. In this interview, she discusses her early experiences with segregation,…
Michael Middlebrooks was born in Athens, Georgia in 1956 and lived there for the majority of his life. He attended the University of Georgia and later worked for Georgia Power for 40 years. In this interview, Middlebrooks recalls his upbringing, the…
Arthur Sims, Sr. moved from rural Georgia to Athens with his family when he was young and attended segregated Athens High and Industrial School. In this interview he talks about his teenage years participating in Civil Rights movements and jobs he…
Larry Green was born and raised in Athens, Georgia. He attended West Broad street School, Lying Junior High, Burney Harris High School, and Clarke Central High School before furthering his education at Albany Technical School and DeVry University. In…
Randy Watkins was born and raised in Athens, Georgia. He is the current Director of Sales and Operations of More than Blinds as well as an umpire and an officiator of various different sports. In this interview, Watkins talks about the racial divide…
Melvin Stroud was born and raised in Athens and has worked in the city for decades. Stroud attended Union Baptist Institute and Athens High and Industrial before furthering his education at Fort Valley State University. In this interview, Stroud…
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…
Barbara Barnett is an active member of the community who has dedicated her life to working with the youth. Barnett has served as a Program Director of Rites of Passage, an organization focused on empowering Black youth through Black history…
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…
Ola Jennings Stevens was born in Athens in 1944. After graduating from Athens High and Industrial School she went on to Fort Valley State University, and then received her Master’s degree from UGA and her Doctorate from the University of Tennessee.…
John Barrow was born in Athens, Georgia in 1946 and was raised on Waddell Street. He graduated from Alabama State College with a degree in business administration before returning to Athens and starting his own business, Barrow Stone and Masonry. In…
Deborah Weaver was born in Athens, Georgia in 1952. She graduated from Athens High School in 1970 and worked in the medical field until getting a job with Delta Air Lines in 1977. In this interview she discusses her childhood, her early education at…
Jean W. Reid was born in 1935 in Griffin, Georgia and is the wife of the late Civil Rights activist Gary Reid. Jean Reid attended a segregated Fairmont High School, where she practiced cheerleading and was a majorette. In 1965, Reid participated in a…
Freddie Phillips was born in Spalding County in 1938. As a child, Phillips attended Anne Shockley grade school and later Fairmont High School where he was a member of the marching band and basketball team. Phillips was active in the Civil Rights…
Gail Reid Hackbart grew up in Griffin, Georgia as the daughter of Gary Reid, a prominent Civil Rights activist in Georgia. Gail attended Georgia Tech, where she started the Alpha Kappa Alpha chapter and participated in marches over the unfair…
Shirley Sherrod was born and raised in Baker County, Georgia. She was formerly the Georgia State Director of Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture. Sherrod married Charles Sherrod and built New Communities, Inc. alongside…
Yaz Johnson was born in 1967 in Albany, Georgia to Johnnie Johnson Jr. and Thelma Johnson. He resided in Albany his entire life, working as a full-time pastor, businessman, and non-profit director. In this interview. Johnson discusses the role of his…
