On January 9, 1961, two courageous students, Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter, took heroic steps on the University of Georgia’s campus to enroll as students, followed by Mary Frances Early, who entered graduate school that summer.
Their legacies continue as they have contributed a lifetime of public service to their communities. Because of these students, the university now boasts a diverse campus made of numerous nationalities, races and ethnicities.
In recognition of the 60th anniversary of desegregation at UGA, FACS launched a video project to help amplify the voices of several of our Black alumni and students.
Interviewed for the project were Portia Johnson, a Ph.D. candidate; Joan Koonce, one of the first Black faculty members in the college; faculty member and FACS graduate Caree Cotwright; and alumna Ashley Dobbs.
The interviews, conducted in Adinkra Hall, the home of the African-American Cultural Center in Memorial Hall, covered issues ranging from how our Black students and faculty found community at UGA to their thoughts on the desegregation milestone to ideas on how the University can be more welcoming for future Black students.