 Charlayne Hunter-Gault Papers
Collection DescriptionBiographical NoteBorn February 27, 1942, in Due West, South Carolina, Charlayne Hunter-Gault (then, Charlayne Hunter) began her studies in journalism at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. In 1961, after a two year legal battle, Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes became the first African Americans to be accepted to the University of Georgia. The two students were met with animosity, and some rioting occurred outside Hunter's dorm. Both Hunter and Holmes were suspended for their own safety, but a court order allowed them to return to campus a few days later. In 1963, Hunter graduated from UGA with a degree in journalism. That same year she married Walter Stovall, a white student also enrolled in the journalism program, an action that was decried by several segregationists throughout the state, and even by some of Hunter's supporters, who felt that this could jeopardize other civil rights advances. The two had one daughter, Susan Stovall, and divorced soon after. Hunter-Gault's professional career in journalism has included work for The New Yorker and The New York Times. She served as a foreign correspondent for Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean for PBS's MacNeil/Lehrer Report. In 1997, she became National Public Radio's chief correspondent for Africa and, in 1999, she became Johannesburg bureau chief and correspondent for CNN. Her memoir, In My Place (1993), chronicles her experiences growing up in the segregated South and integrating the University of Georgia. She is currently married to Ron Gault and they have a son, Chuma Gault. Ms. Hunter-Gault has received numerous awards for journalism including: Good Housekeeping Broadcast Personality of the Year; American Women in Radio and Television Award; National News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Coverage (regarding the American invasion of Grenada); National Association of Black Journalists' Journalist of the Year Award (1986); George Foster Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism (NewsHour's Apartheid's People); Sidney Hillman Award (1990); National Urban Coalition's Distinguished Urban Reporting Award; and two awards from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for excellence in local programming. For additional information on Charlayne Hunter-Gault and UGA desegregation see: "Charlayne Hunter-Gault (b. 1942)," New Georgia Encyclopedia. Robert A. Pratt, We Shall Not Be Moved: The Desegregation of the University of Georgia (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2002). Calvin Trillin, An Education in Georgia: Charlayne Hunter, Hamilton Holmes, and the Integration of the University of Georgia (1964; reprint, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1991). Scope and ContentThis collection consists of papers, photographs, audiovisual recordings, and artifacts documenting the personal life, education, and professional career of Charlayne-Hunter Gault. The collection includes records pertaining to the integration of the University of Georgia by Hunter-Gault and Hamilton Holmes in 1961, and her professional activities as a journalist, including her tenure as national correspondent and anchor for the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour from 1979 until 1988, and her reporting from South Africa and other nations as a foreighn correspondent for National Public Radio and CNN in the 1990s. Organization and ArrangementThis collection is organized into seven series: Series I. University of Georgia, Series II. Journalism, Series III. In My Place, Series IV. Personal, Series V. Audiovisual Recordings, Series VI. Additions to the Collection, and Series VII. Websites Administrative InformationConditions Governing AccessThis collection contains audiovisual materials. Reference copies of the audiovisual recordings are available upon request. Research requests will be filled as soon as possible and will be dependent upon the condition of the recordings. This collection contains digital files. To access these files, please request the folders you would like through the finding aid using your research account. An archivist will be in contact with you to explain how to access the files. Please note that not all file formats are currently supported by the library for research. Some materials in this collection are restricted. Preferred CitationCharlayne Hunter-Gault Papers, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641. User RestrictionsLibrary acts as "fair use" reproduction agent. Copyright InformationBefore material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permissions. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original. Finding Aid PublicationFinding aid prepared on: 2012. Related Materials and SubjectsSubject TermsRelated Collections in this Repository
Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies and Research Collection S. Ernest Vandiver, Jr. Papers Clifford H. (Baldy) Baldowski Editorial Cartoons Walter A. Lundy Files, Red and Black (Fall 1953) Integration Issue Papers Stovall and McKay Families Papers Related Collections in Other RepositoriesUniversity of Georgia Integration Material, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library WSB-TV Newsfilm Collection, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection Hamilton Holmes Papers, King Center | ||||||||||||||||||||