UGA Black Alumni Oral History Project

Descriptive Summary
Title: UGA Black Alumni Oral History Project
Creator: University of Georgia Libraries
Inclusive Dates: 2019-2022
Language(s): English
Extent: 9 interview(s)
Collection Number: UA20-002
Repository: University of Georgia Archives

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Collection Description

Historical Note

The UGA Black Alumni Oral History Project is an initiative of the University Archives unit of the Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia that began in 2019. The goal of the project is to document the stories of Black students who attended UGA in the 1960s and 70s through interviews and preserve these stories for future generations.

Scope and Content

The UGA Black Alumni Oral History Project interviews document the experiences of Black students who attended the University of Georgia in the years following the University's 1961 desegregation. Some of the topics alumni discuss include their reasons for enrolling at UGA, their social lives, their academic goals, their experiences with racism on and off campus, and how time their time at UGA has shaped their lives.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Oral history title], UGA Black Alumni Oral History Project, UA20-002, University Archives, University of Georgia.

Conditions Governing Use

Resources may be used under the guidelines described by the U.S. Copyright Office in Section 107, Title 17, United States Code (Fair use). Parties interested in production or commercial use of the resources should contact the Hargrett Library.

General Notes

This project was funded by the Giving Voice to the Voiceless grant established by Charlayne Hunter-Gault and Ron Gault and administered by the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia.

Interviews from this project can also be accessed on the Univerity of Georgia's Kaltura streaming platform.

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Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

Related Collections in this Repository

Related materials include select interviews in the Goin' Back: Remembering UGA Oral History Collection: Interview with Mary Frances Early, May 22, 2007; Interview with Robert Benham, December 2, 2016; and Interview with Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Mary Diallo, Kerry Rushin Miller, and Harold Black, January 12, 2017

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Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 

har-ua20-002_0001 Nawanna Lewis Miller interviewed by Ashley Carter, 2019 June 30 Access Online

Pastor Nawanna Lewis Miller is Founding Chair and Leading Director of the Institute for Christian Discipleship, Inc. in Marietta, Georgia. She is a graduate of H.M. Turner High School in Atlanta, Georgia and one of the early African American graduates of the University of Georgia, where she earned her ABJ degree in Broadcast Journalism in 1973. After UGA, Miller went on to earn a Master of Arts in Organizational Communications and a Master of Divinity Degree from Howard University. In this interview, Miller discusses her experience as a young African American woman attending the recently desegregated University of Georgia. Among other topics, she describes the forces that drove her to create the Pamoja Dance Company, a program that is still active at the University of Georgia.

 

har-ua20-002_0002 Dr. Ben Rucker interviewed by Ashley Carter, 2019 July 25 Access Online

Dr. Benjamin Rucker is a physician specializing in internal medicine in Augusta, Georgia. He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in 1975. Prior to medical school he attended Gainesville Junior College (now the University of North Georgia, Gainesville Campus) where he earned his associates in science. He then transferred to the University of Georgia where he completed his bachelor's degree in science in 1972. Dr. Rucker is a native of Gainesville, Georgia where he attended E.E. Butler High School. In this interview, Dr. Rucker discusses his experience attending the University of Georgia, including his decision to enroll, his involvement with local activism, his experience as a transfer student, and his thoughts on UGA athletics during the years he attended.

 

har-ua20-002_0003 Janis Ware interviewed by Ashley Carter, 2019 September 27 Access Online

Janis Ware is the publisher of The Atlanta Voice, a newspaper serving the city's African American community since 1966. She is also the Executive Director of SUMMECH Community Development Corporation, an organization that works to build affordable housing for first-time home buyers in Atlanta's Mechanicsville neighborhood. Ware graduated from the University of Georgia's College of Business Administration in 1977, becoming one of the first African American women to do so. She is an Atlanta native and an alumna of Booker T. Washington High School. In this interview Ware discusses why she enrolled at UGA and what her student experience was like academically and socially.

 

har-ua20-002_0004 Ken Dious interviewed by Venus Jackson, 2020 March 11 Access Online

Kenneth Dious was born in Athens, Georgia and attended Athens-Clarke County public schools. After graduating from high school, he attended Savannah State College and later transferred to the University of Georgia. At UGA he earned a degree in Business Administration in 1968. After a brief stint in the United States Army, and receiving an honorable discharge, Ken returned to the University of Georgia to pursue a Masters Degree in Math Education. Dious then took a position as a cost accountant with the Georgia Lockheed Martin Corporation in Marietta, Georgia. He returned to school a year later, entering the University Of Georgia School Of Law where he earned his Juris Doctor in 1973. In 1974 he opened a law office in Athens as a sole practitioner, becoming the first African American to do so in Northeast Georgia. In this interview Dious discusses his experience as one of the first African Americans to attend the University of Georgia. He shares details about his time as the first African American to wear a UGA football uniform, his experience as a young civil rights protester, and the benefits of starting the Black Student Unions at UGA as both an undergraduate as well as a student of the law school.

 

har-ua20-002_0005 Richard Morgan interviewed by DonA Traylor-Askew, 2021 October 19 Access Online

Richard Morgan is a native of Cedartown, Georgia who graduated from the University of Georgia in 1974 with a bachelor of science in pharmacy. He is a charter member of the Zeta Pi chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the first Black Greek letter organization at UGA, established in 1969. In this interview, Mr. Morgan discusses his upbringing in Cedartown, his academic experience at the University of Georgia, the desegregation of UGA athletics, his involvement with establishing UGA's first Black fraternity, and his years as a pharmacist in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

 

har-ua20-002_0006 Beverly Johnson Hood interviewed by Venus Jackson, 2022 March 18 Access Online

Beverly Johnson Hood graduated from the University of Georgia in 1972 with a bachelors in business administration. She is one of the founding members of the Zeta Psi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, the first Black sorority at the University of Georgia, founded in 1969. Mrs. Hood discusses her reasons for attending UGA, particpating in protests on campus, and her academic and social experience on campus.

 

har-ua20-002_0007 Bendel Love Rucker interviewed by Venus Jackson, 2022 May 19 Access Online

Bendel Love Rucker graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor of science in 1972. She is a native of Asheville, North Carolina and Gainesville, Georgia. Prior to her enrollment at UGA, she attended Allen High School and St. Genevieve-of-the-Pines in Asheville. Mrs. Rucker was one of the founding members of the Zeta Psi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, the first Black sorority at the University of Georgia, founded in 1969. In this interview, Mrs. Rucker discusses her early years, her experience with academics and social life at UGA, meeting her future husband Benjamin Rucker, and her protest activities.

 

har-ua20-002_0008 Levert Hood interviewed by Steve Armour, 2022 June 30 Access Online

Levert Hood began his studies at the University of Georgia in 1970 and graduated with a Bachelors in Business Administration in 1974. As a student, Hood became chairman of the Black Student Union in 1971 and he became a charter member of Zeta Iota chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity the same year. After college, Hood became an accountant for BellSouth Corporation and finished his career as an audit manager for capital construction projects at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

 

har-ua20-002_0009 Dr. Barbara Brown Geter, 2022 August 30 Access Online

Barbara Brown Geter graduated from the University of Georgia with a Masters in Social Work in 1969. She was among the first four Black students to enroll and graduate from the UGA School of Social Work. She returned to UGA in 1977 to complete her Specialist in Education degree, returned again to complete her Ph.D in Special Education and Educational Leadership in 1991, and came back once more to earn her J.D. from UGA Law School in 1995. She is a native of Athens, Georgia and completed her undergraduate studies at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. In this interview, Dr. Geter discusses her upbringing, her time at Shaw, her experience as a student at the University of Georgia, and her career in social work, education, law, and behavioral health.