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By Sharron Hannon
shannon@uga.edu
January of 2001 marks 40 years since the University of Georgia was desegregated following a protracted legal battle that ultimately resulted in the admission of two African-American students: Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes.
To mark the anniversary, a committee is planning a series of events on Tuesday, Jan. 9, the day after spring semester classes begin. Charlayne Hunter-Gault, now a correspondent for CNN based in Africa, has accepted an invitation to return to campus and speak at a symposium that also will include a roundtable discussion about events and issues surrounding the desegregation. Participants will include members of her legal team, plus then-Gov. Ernest Vandiver and two members of the Georgia General Assembly at the time--one of whom, Carl Sanders, later became governor himself.
Journalists who covered the legal case and the arrival on campus of the two students also will participate in an afternoon roundtable.
The symposium, to be held in Hodgson Hall of the Performing Arts Center, is being coordinated by Betty Jean Craige, director of UGA’s Center for Humanities and Arts, working with Vice President for Instruction Tom Dyer, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Victor Wilson and staff from University Communications.
Also serving on the planning committee is Mark Anthony Thomas, a UGA senior, who is organizing an evening event in Georgia Hall of the Tate Student Center.
“The objective is to show the university community and alumni how diversity has changed and enhanced the campus experience,” says Thomas, who is inviting student and community organizations to mount displays or give presentations and performances that night.
The effort to desegregate the university began years before Holmes and Hunter won admission. During the 1950s, Horace Ward filed suit to enter UGA’s School of Law. Ward, who eventually earned his law degree from Northwestern, later served as co-counsel on the Holmes-Hunter legal team. He will be part of the roundtable discussion, along with Constance Baker Motley, then of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. Both are now judges.
Despite facing obstacles, Holmes and Hunter graduated from UGA in 1963 and pursued successful careers in medicine and journalism, respectively.
DO YOU KNOW?
The committee planning the 40th anniversary commemoration is looking for details about other “firsts” involving the integration of African-American students and other minorities into the life of the university. If you have information, please e-mail it to columns@uga.edu. |
