UGA History Professor Dr. Kathleen Clark interviews Lorena Weeks about her life and her discrimination case against Southern Bell in the 1960s. Lorena Weeks recalls how she started working at Southern Bell Telephone Company. She discusses her early…
Gussie Davis Phillips is interviewed by her niece, Mattie Davis Hubbard about her involvement with civil rights and community activism. Phillips discusses her brothers' involvement in the World War II effort. She recalls her brothers' fight for…
Jim Grimsley was born in 1955 in North Carolina. He worked as a playwright for 7 Stages Theater for over 20 years and has written numerous semi-autobiographical novels including Winter Birds and Dream Boy. He is a Professor of Practice in the English…
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…
Dean Rusk describes the work of the Rockefeller Foundation and Rockefeller grants, focusing on the conflict between culture and tradition with development strategies. He cites as examples public health efforts in India, Mexico, and Hungary and…
Rusk discusses his experiences with racism, integration and discrimination issues, including housing discrimination in Washington and his daughter’s marriage. This interview is a continuation of Rusk FF.
Dean Rusk discusses his childhood in Atlanta. Topics include the Ku Klux Klan, Reconstruction, the Leo Frank case, the Atlanta race riot of 1906, and radio.
Leroy Reginald Johnson was born in Atlanta, Georgia on July 28, 1928. He attended Morehouse College, worked in the Fulton County Solicitor-General’s office, and served as a Georgia senator from 1963-1975, becoming the first black legislator in the…
Lera Catherine "Cathy" Cox was born in Bainbridge, Georgia, in 1958 and has served as a state representative, Secretary of State, and as the 21st president of Young Harris College. Cox discusses her early years in Bainbridge, Ga., and her career path…
In 1969, Sam Massell was elected as a Democrat to be the Atlanta's first Jewish mayor. He discusses his early political career and his time as mayor, including the development of MARTA, his support for the advancement of minorities, and the role of…
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…
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…
John Reginald "Reg" Murphy attended Mercer University in Macon, and worked for the Macon Telegraph. In 1955 he opened the Atlanta bureau of the Macon Telegraph. He was chosen to be a Neiman Fellow at Harvard in 1959, and in 1961 went to work for the…
Content Warning: This interview discusses legislation around sexual violence.Cathey Weiss Steinberg served in the Georgia General Assembly for sixteen years in both the Georgia House of Representatives (1977-1989) and in the Georgia Senate…
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.…
A former member of Congress, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, and two-term Mayor of Atlanta, Andrew Young began his political career as a minister and civil rights activist. Young discusses his upbringing in New Orleans, education, early career…
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…
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…
Thurman talks about his experience growing up as black kid in Panoramic City, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. He talks about riding VMX dirt bikes with his older brother. Thurman talks about his process of becoming race conscious while…
Daniel Parshley was born in Niagara Falls, New York, as the son of an aeronautical engineer. His childhood was spent in California and Connecticut where he graduated from high school and attended college. Brunswick, Georgia, has been Parshley's home…
Homer Wilson grew up in Madison County. He earned a certificate in forest from Fort Valley State College. In this interview, he discusses how he began working in his father’s barbershop, Wilson’s Styling Shop, in downtown Athens, Georgia. He talks…
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,…
Bennie Roberson was born in Athens in 1947 where he attended Union Baptist Institute and, upon its completion, Lyons Middle School. In this interview, he recalls historically significant areas such as The Bottom, East Athens, and Hot Corner and…
Thomas Griffith was born in Madison County and moved with his family to Athens as a young teen. Throughout the interview, he stresses the importance of his mother’s Christian faith in instilling strong morals in him and his brothers and her…
Donarell R. Green III was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1946. His family moved to Athens shortly after his birth to start a medical practice for Black Athenians. In this interview he remembers the Susan Medical Center, growing up as the son of a…
John Clark was raised in Oglethorpe County in a family of twelve siblings and moved to Athens upon the death of his father in 1965. After completing Burney-Harris High School, he served in the military before returning to Georgia and studying law at…
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…
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…
Barnard Sims was born in Barrow County to a family of four. Once he started school, he realized that Black people were systematically treated differently than white people and felt that he lacked understanding of Black history. In this interview,…
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…
Isaiah Ellison was born to a large, rural Georgian family in 1948. During childhood, his family moved to several cities across the state of Georgia until they ended up in Athens, where Ellison still resides. In this interview, Ellison shares memories…
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…
Terry Bennett was born in Athens in 1968 and attended local schools until he graduated from Clarke County High School. After graduation, Bennett immediately went to work and eventually began work for Food for the Soul and, later, at the Sparrow’s…
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…
Content Warning: This interview contains references to police brutality and murder.Willie Hull was born in Hull, Georgia in 1949 and moved to Athens in 1958, giving him childhood experiences in both rural and urban areas. After graduating from…
Charlotte Sosebee was born in Gainesville, Georgia in 1966. Sosebee attended school at White Sulfur Springs Elementary and East Hall High School. In this interview, Sosebee discusses childhood memories of family and recalls her experiences in…
Content Warning: This interview contains racial slurs.Richard Dunn was born in 1952 in Washington, D.C., and was raised by his mother and grandmother. Dunn first came to Athens to pursue a television internship in the summer of 1971, but transferred…
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…
Raymond Winfrey was born to a large family in Clarke County in 1951. He was raised there, and spent time on the family farm throughout his youth and attended the segregated schools Lyons Elementary School and Burney Harris High School. He was…
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.…
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…
Kenneth Little was born in 1955 and grew up in Athens. In this interview, Little talks about his time at East Athens School, Hilsman Middle, and Clarke Central High School in the early 1970s, including topics of segregation, integration, racism, and…
Scott Killian was born in 1955 in Athens and grew up in the Morristown neighborhood of Athens and in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1963, Killian was the first person to integrate Chase Street Elementary School and was one of the first five Black…
Darrison Ellison was born and raised in Athens, Georgia. He discovered hip-hop and rap while in middle school, where he was active in school performances. Ellison served in the military from 1989-1995, after which he was involved in the Athens music…
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…
Jean Langenheim was the president of the Ecological Society of America from 1986-1987. She wrote an autobiography, The Odyssey of a Woman Field Scientist: A Story of Passion, Persistence, and Patience, and was a professor at the University of…
Joy Zedler was a professor at San Diego State University and the University of Wisconsin, Madison where she worked on ecological conservation of wetlands and sedge meadows. She served on the boards of The Nature Conservancy, the Environmental Defense…
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…
Tommy Lee Harps grew up on a farm in Griffin, Georgia. As a child, Harps worked at the Georgia Experiment Station along with his father under Dr. H.P. Stuckley, during which he attended Mount Pleasant Church School and later Vocational High School.…
JoAnne Phinazee was born in Griffin, Georgia in 1943. Phinazee grew up during segregation where she attended Annie Shockley Grade School and later Negro Vocational High School. As an adult, Phinazee worked at Pomona Products. In this interview,…
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…
Robert Dull works at the Griffin Housing Authority as the Chief Executive Officer. In this interview, Robert Dull discusses his work in the Fairmont community through the Griffin Housing Authority, as well as the effect of segregation and poverty on…
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…
Love Maddox was born in Griffin, Georgia and served as one of the first African American policemen during the integration of the Griffin community police force. Throughout his career, Maddox also served in the city of Atlanta. In this interview,…
Cheryl Head Rashied and Raymond Head III were born in Griffin, Georgia in 1948 and 1950, respectively. Cheryl and Raymond are the children of civil rights activist Raymond Head Jr., and experienced first-hand the effects of discrimination on the…
Curtis Jones grew up in Griffin, Georgia during segregation. As a child, he was one of the first students to integrate into Sacred Heart Elementary and later was one of the first to integrate into Griffin High School. Jones attended West Point…
Kenda Suzette Fuller-Woodard was born in 1959, and grew up in the community of Fairmont, Georgia. In this interview, Fuller-Woodard discusses living in Griffin, Georgia during the 1960s and 70s. Fuller-Woodard touches on a variety of subjects…
Larry Caldwell grew up in Springhill, Georgia during the era of segregation. He served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War and when he returned, attended Griffin Technical Institute before he attained employment at General Motors. In this…
Howard Wallace grew up in the 1930s in Griffin, Georgia. As a young adult, Wallace joined the Biracial Committee where he worked on the integration process of Griffin. In this interview, Wallace talks about his upbringing, the racial aspects of…
Wyomia Tyus grew up in Griffin, Georgia where she attended Anne-Shockley Elementary School and Fairmont High School. She later attended Tennessee State University where she ran, and competed in the 1964 and 1968 Olympics. In this interview Tyus talks…
Eddie Carthan was born in 1949 and was raised by his grandparents on their family farm in Mississippi. He attended college and became a businessman and then a farmer. Carthan was the first Black Mayor of Tchula, Mississippi before becoming the County…
Wendell Paris grew up in Mississippi and attended Tuskegee Institute where he studied agriculture. During his time as a student, he joined the Student Nonviolence Coordination Committee (SNCC). Paris eventually came to manage the Panola Land Buyers…
Samuel McCray was born in 1949 near Lambert. He was raised by his grandparents who were sharecroppers on a plantation. He attended Delta State University and he worked for various nonprofits before becoming a Field Representative and Caseworker in…
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…
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…
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…
Reverend James Williams is the Church Historian for Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. He grew up in El Paso, Texas before moving to Elbert County, Georgia at age ten. In this follow-up interview, he focuses on his time at the University of Georgia. He…
Brenda Lopez Romero was born in Cuernavaca, Mexico, and immigrated to Georgia with her parents while she was a young child. As a first generation scholar, Romero recounts her experiences dealing with racism within public schools, university, and the…
Sam Zamarripa was born in Fort Benning to a Mexican immigrant and an American national. As his father was in the military, Zamarripa’s family moved often, but he considers himself a Southerner. In this interview, Zamarripa discusses his…
Jeffrey Tapia is the former Executive Director of the Latin American Association (LAA) as well as the former Director of Hispanic Services at Catholic Social Services. Tapia has dedicated her life to serving the Latino community through outreach. In…
This interview was recorded remotely. Maritza Soto Keen is an associate director and senior public service faculty at the Fanning Institute at the University of Georgia. Keen has also spent many years leading the Latin American Association as the…
