Tanya Chanphanitpornkit is a high school orchestra teacher in Niagara, New York. Chanphanitpornkit discusses the diversity of her school, the challenges of teaching, and how she keeps her students engaged.
Tarik Camp, also known as Top Cat, was born in Athens, Georgia. His mother worked as a singer and his father as a DJ. Growing up, Camp worked as a D.J and music creator before he formed the band, Mascom. Camp currently has a wife and two daughters…
Tatiana Anthony was born in Decatur, Georgia and attends the University of Georgia as a full time student. Tatiana Anthony discusses living with her younger brother, Jacob, who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. She gives insight into how…
Terence Johnson was born in Athens-Clarke County in 1961. During his youth, he lived in both New York and Athens, and attended an array of schools including P.S. 189, Epps Road Elementary School, and Clarke Central High School. In this interview,…
Teresa Granger is a music teacher at Rocky Branch Elementary School in Bogart, Georgia. Granger discusses her path to teaching, her early teaching experiences, and the rewards and challenges of teaching. She describes hopeful and funny moments, her…
Teresa Tomlinson was born in Atlanta and graduated from Chamblee High School. She is a graduate of Sweet Briar College and earned her J.D. from Emory University School of Law. Tomlinson practiced law at Pope, McGlamry, Kilpatrick, Morrison and…
Terry Allen moved to the University of Georgia in 1973 as a music enthusiast. While in Athens, he watched and photographed many bands including R.E.M. and the B-52s. Allen later went to New York for a year before he came back to Athens to work as…
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…
Terry Coleman was born in Dodge County, Georgia, and his legislative career began when he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1972, where he served on the Appropriations Commitee. In this interview Coleman discusses his political…
Tershant Rhodes Smith was born in Greene County in 1974. She graduated from Greene-Taliaferro High School in 1993 before enlisting in the United States Army. After becoming pregnant with her daughter she decided to leave the army to begin a more…
Thai Le, from Lawrenceville, GA, served active duty in the Marine Corps for four years. He deployed twice, once on a tour of the Black Sea and the other to Okinawa, Japan. In this interview, Le discusses his experiences as a Marine, including boot…
Tharon Johnson was born in Atlanta and grew up in Athens. He attended Clark Atlanta University where played football and graduated in 2001. Johnson began his political career working in Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell’s Office for Community Affairs…
Ted Sorensen interviewed by Richard Rusk. Topics include the Vietnam War, Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and the United States Foreign Relations Administration.Theodore C. "Ted" Sorensen served as Assistant to President John Kennedy from 1953-1961…
Thomas Bornemann discusses his reaction to the series of articles published by The Atlanta-Journal Constitution. The interviewer, Lei Ellingson, and Bornemann discuss meetings held with advocates from the Georgia mental healthcare system with the…
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…
Content Warning: This interview contains racial slurs.Thomas Oglesby was born in Athens in 1951 and grew up on Minor Street between Rockspring and Broad Acres. In this interview, Oglesby discusses his early life, experiences in Youth Development…
Thurbert Baker worked in Fulton County in the public defender’s office. He then worked as a lawyer for the Environmental Protection Agency. In 1989, he ran his first campaign for the Georgia House of Representatives, where he subsequently served five…
Tiffany English is a music teacher at Sugar Hill Elementary School in Sugar Hill, Georgia. English discusses why she became a teacher, what keeps her in the profession, and what factors lead some teachers to leave. She describes funny moments, how…
Tiffany Taylor was born in Athens in 1988 and grew up on the East Side. She was raised by a single mother, and the community provided assistance in her upbringing. In this interview, she recounts her experiences through her various careers and…
Tim Cairl was born and raised in rural, central Michigan. He relocated to Georgia with his family as a child and attended high school in Douglasville, Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health sciences from Liberty University in 1997 and an…
Timothy Adams, Sr. is a retired music teacher who began working in Georgia schools in 1959. He discusses his career influences, his passion for teaching, and his mentorship of students.
Content Warning: This interview includes references to addiction, sexual abuse, and domestic violence.Tlayra Jordan was born in 1981 and grew up in Ohio with her great aunt and uncle before moving to Athens as a late teen. In this interview, Jordan…
Todd McBride grew up in Griffin, Georgia and attended Gordon State College, and the University of Georgia. He was a singer and guitarist in multiple bands including Random Factor, the La-Di-Da’s, Liquor Cabinet, and The Dashboard Saviors. In this…
Tom Baxter was a reporter, editor of the Sunday Perspective section, national editor, and chief political correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has written about politics in the South since 1987, joining InsiderAdvantage in 2007 to…
Thomas Bryant Buck, III, was first elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1966. He served for thirty-eight years in the Georgia House of Representatives, one of the longest tenures of any lawmaker in the state's history. He became a committee…
Tom Crawford was born in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Clarkston High School in DeKalb County, Georgia in 1968. As a journalism student at the University of Georgia, Crawford worked at the student-led newspaper, The Red & Black, rising to rank…
Tom Graf reflects on his life work in providing change for those who suffer from mental disabilities. Graf describes his early life as a blue-collar worker, before his eventual change of path into providing care for the mentally disabled. Graf…
Thomas Houck dropped out of high school at age 15 and joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to work under Hosea Williams. In 1965, he met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at a meeting of the SCLC, and in 1966 he came to Atlanta and became…
Tom Johnson, from Macon, Ga, earned an MBA from Harvard University and worked in politics alongside Lyndon B. Johnson before working in professional journalism. In this interview, Johnson details his experience of the White House Fellowship Program,…
Johnson recalls growing up in Macon and the influence that his high school job at the Macon Telegraph had on his career ambitions. He reminisces on his experiences at UGA, particularly covering the desegregation of the school for The Red and Black.…
Born on October 8, 1954 in Lansing, Michigan, Tom Price grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, and graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. An orthopedic surgeon, Price moved to Atlanta in 1979 when he began a surgical internship and residency…
Content Warning: This interview discusses details of sexual violence and murder.William R. "Bill" Shipp interviews Tom Watson Brown. Topics include Tom Watson (Brown's great-grandfather and national Populist leader), the Leo Frank case, Walter J.…
Tommy Brown was born in Athens in 1940 to a family of seventeen children. Growing up as a sharecropper, he learned much about self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship. In this interview, Brown shares his experiences with the Ku Klux Klan, workplace…
Tommy Coleman was born in 1948 in Albany, Georgia. He served as the Mayor of Albany for ten years and continues to practice law in South Georgia. In this interview, Coleman discusses his role in Albany politics and the various tensions that were…
Tommy Irvin discusses his long career as Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture, a position he held from 1969 to 2011. Leading up to his service with the Department of Agriculture, Irvin served on the Habersham County School Board, directed the Georgia…
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.…
Tonna Carbaugh-Dieter is a high school orchestra director in the Twin Valley School District in Elverson, Pennsylvania.This interview was recorded remotely.
Content Warning: This interview contains racial slurs.Tony Rucker was born near Commerce in 1953 and grew up playing piano and saxophone. He attended the University of Georgia for his undergraduate and masters’ degrees before attending Florida State…
Tracy Smith was born in 1963. Her childhood was shared between Athens and Atlanta, and she constantly moved between the two. She attended Athens Technical School and interned at WXAG radio in Athens which began a long career in marketing and…
Travis Parker George is a Georgia native whose interest in the military was sparked by a childhood trip to Pearl Harbor. After deciding to join the Army, George was sent to various training programs and eventually became a member of a selection-based…
Troy Aubrey was born in Louisville, Kentucky and came to Athens to attend the University of Georgia. Aubrey took over his brother’s booking agency Georgia Booking Associates, and also worked as the booking management agent and stage manager for…
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…
U. Alexis Johnson discusses his long association with Dean Rusk. He focuses on the Cuban Missle Crisis. In particular, he discusses the use of non-Kennedy-administration personnel in handling the crisis and the follow-up press conference to the Bay…
U. Alexis Johnson interviewed by Richard Rusk. U. Alexis Johnson discusses both his personal and professional relationship with Rusk. He focuses on Rusk during the Truman and Kennedy administrations. Johnson comments on Rusk as an administrator and…
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…
Vanessa Briscoe Hay, born in Atlanta, Ga, was the singer for the Athens band Pylon. In this interview, Hay discusses her experience of Athens during the 1970s and performing and recording with Pylon, before and after their break up.
Vashaun Jones was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. He describes being blind or visually impaired throughout his life. He talks about his career, emphasizing the importance of failure to achieving success.
Velena Vego is from Atlanta, GA and moved to Athens to pursue success in her sister’s girl band, Mystery Date. After the band broke up, she worked for R.E.M. and Drivin’ N’ Cryin’. She finds her work in booking shows for The 40 Watt CLub, the…
Venus Jarrell was born in Athens in 1946, where he attended West Broad Elementary School, Lyons Junior High, and Athens High and Industrial. He was an active band member in school and, after graduation, continued playing in the band at Mississippi…
Verna Miller Smith was born in 1946. She grew up on a family farm off Brooklyn road in Athens, Georgia. In this interview, she discusses her family history and describes the Brooklyn neighborhood which was historically African American. She…
Chaffin remembers growing up in Toccoa and details his undergraduate experiences at UGA in the late 1930s, particularly the campus buildings, campus politics between fraternity members and independents, campus traditions like freshman hazing and…
Vernon Thornsberry was born and raised in New Orleans. He taught himself to paint and play several instruments. He moved to Athens, GA in 1986 where he has become a local legend and familiar face, especially around The Grit and Jittery Joe’s. During…
Vic Varney was born in Georgia but grew up in Chattanooga, TN. He moved to Athens in 1975 and earned two degrees from the University of Georgia. In this interview, Varney discusses his experiences in The Tone-Tones, The Method Actors, and Go Van Go.…
Vicki Portis is a music specialist at Bluff Park Elementary School in Hoover, Alabama. Portis discusses her path to teaching, what keeps her in the profession, and what factors lead some teachers to quit. She describes funny moments and talks about…
Vicky Orozco is a music teacher at the South Bronx Classical Charter School in Bronx, New York. Orozco discusses her path to teaching, her successes and challenges, and her hopes for the profession.
Victoria Knowles is a Music Specialist at Cloverleaf Elementary School in Bartow County, Georgia. Knowles discusses her work environment, her teaching style, and how she motivates her students. She also talks about staying connected with the…
Interview with Vince Dooley, Head Football Couch at the University of Georgia. Topics include anecdotes of Senator Russell; Lyndon Baines Johnson; Kennedy Family; Russell's knowledge of sports and football and interest in UGA Bulldogs; Vietnam…
Virginia Gunn was a prominent television personality in Atlanta before she moved to St. Simons, Georgia where she worked to protect sea turtles. Gunn started the nonprofit Save the Beach and successfully ran for County Commissioner in order to…
Christine Packwood interviews Athens native Virginia Schultz. Schultz talks about her experience growing up in Normaltown in the 1930s and 1940s, working for the University of Georgia and General Motors, her family, and her religious…
Virginia Wallace interviewed by Richard Rusk (in absentia--questions submitted by Richard Rusk were read to Ms. Wallace in Korea by an unidentified Foreign Service Officer). Topics include diplomatic and consular service, the U.S. Department of…
Russell King moved around frequently as a child but eventually settled in South Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia for undergraduate studies and law school before working as Herman Talmadge’s Senior Legislative Assistant. In this…
Interview with Wallace Foster Bennett, U.S. Senator (R-Utah). Topics include anecdotes of Senator Russell; Governmental Investigations; Political parties--Republican; Race relations; U. S. Senate Committees.
Richard Rusk interviews Walt Rostow over the telephone. Walt Rostow discusses his working relationship with Dean Rusk during the administrations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and touches upon his own experience as a student at Oxford. He comments…
Dean Rusk interviews Walt Rostow over the phone. Walt Rostow discusses his relationship with Dean Rusk during the administrations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and the Vietnam War. He touches upon the "Tuesday luncheons" and critiques Rusk's…
Walter Allen Jr. has lived in Athens his entire life, graduating from Cedar Shoals High School and attending the University of Georgia for two years. He left the university to work full-time for a local radio station and later started a successful…
Walter Allen Jr. was born and raised in Athens, GA during the city’s period of integration. In this interview he recalls his experiences with the integration process, attending seven different public schools, and being bused to schools on the other…
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…
Dr. Walter Allen, Sr. grew up in Allendale, South Carolina where he learned how to play the trumpet in his high school band. He began his music career as a teenager by playing in a variety of bands, including the military band during his service in…
Walter Pyron was born in Griffin, Georgia and attended Anna Shockley Elementary during the years of segregation. Pyron additionally worked as the band director for Griffin High School before becoming the assistant principal of Futral Road Elementary…
Wayne Garner served in the Georgia State Senate from 1980 until 1993. Garner chaired the Senate Committee on Corrections for approximately ten years. He was later named majority leader of the Senate and, ultimately, President Pro Tempore. In April of…
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…
Wilbert Pope was born in 1957 and spent his youth in Augusta and Lincolnton, Georgia. He attended Lucy C. Laney High School, where he was a part of the band, and afterwards attended the University of Georgia, graduating with a degree in Biological…
William Bonner interviewed by Hal Henderson. Topics include Growing up in Lavonia with Ernest Vandiver, Vandiver as a student, and Vandiver’s upbringing and childhood.
William Bowdoin interviewed by Hal Henderson. Bowdoin was president of the Trust Company of Georgia Associates, supervisor of the Purchases Department in the Vandiver administration, and chairman of the state Ports Authority. In this interview,…
William James Breeding, Jr. was born in Dalton, Georgia and spent his youth there. He experienced how the schools in Greene County handled integration, and found success in athletics there and beyond at the University of Georgia. In this interview,…
William Bundy, interviewed by Richard Rusk, discusses his association with Dean Rusk during the Johnson administration. He contrasts Rusk's working style with that of Robert McNamara and reflects on Rusk's abilities as an administrator. He describes…
Interview with William C. Harris, a Savannah, Georgia newsman and politician. Topics include Civil rights; Harold L. Ickes; Archibald Lovett; Military bases; Richard M. Nixon; Hugh Peterson; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Richard B. Russell, Sr.; Senate…
William D. Ballard interviewed by Hal Henderson. Topics include the county unit system, the accomplishments of Vandiver’s administration, Vandiver as a politician and speaker, Vandiver's personality, Vandiver's withdrawal from the 1966 gubernatorial…
William D. Ballard interviewed by Hal Henderson. Topics include Ballard's impressions of members of Gov. Marvin Griffin's administration (including T.V. "Red" Williams and Roy Chalker), the relationship between Griffin and Vandiver, the rural roads…
William S. Harris was born in Tampa, Florida in the late 1930’s and was raised in Americus, Georgia from the age of five. He attended Americus High School and later South Georgia Technical College. He joined the Navy for two years after which he…
Interview with William "Bill" Horace Darden, Judge, U.S. Court of Military Appeals, 1968-1974. Topics include anecdotes of Senator Russell; Madame Chiang Kai-shek; Cuban Missile Crisis; Georgia Governor's Election (1930); Gulf of Tonkin; Lyndon…
William Hunter Bradford was born and raised in Colorado to parents who were both UGA graduates. After high school, Bradford decided to attend UGA and join the Georgia National Guard. After attending Basic Training and AIT (Advanced Individual…
William Kilgore is a band director at West Jackson Middle School in Jefferson, Georgia. Kilgore discusses his path to teaching, administration obligations, and the rewards and challenges of teaching. He describes his teaching style, how he motivates…
William L. Lanier interviewed by Hal Henderson. Topics include the failures of Vandiver’s administration, Vandiver as governor, and Vandiver as aspeaker, steward, and politician.
William L. Lanier interviewed by Hal Henderson. Topics include meeting Vandiver in 1948, Vandiver's opponents in the 1954 lieutenant governor race, the Griffin administration’s integrity, the 1958 governor’s race, Vandiver's “No, not one” speech, the…
Interview with William Proxmire, U.S. Senator (D-Wisconsin). Topics include Civil rights; Lyndon B. Johnson; Democratic National Convention (1952); U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services.
William Reiners was the Treasurer of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) from 1981-1984. He has also been a professor at the University of Minnesota, Dartmouth College, and the University of Wyoming. In this interview, he talks about his career…
William Tapley Bennett interviewed by Richard Rusk. Topics include Bennett’s career in the military and the foreign service, Dean Rusk and his wife Virginia Foisie Rusk, Peggy Rusk’s marriage, Vietnam, Bennett’s son, Richard Rusk’s brother-in-law,…
William Walker was born in Wetumpka, Alabama and came to Griffin, Georgia in 1959 to teach at Moore Elementary School. Walker later became the first black president of the newly integrated Griffin Middle School before he took a position in the…
William Willard Wirtz, interviewed by Richard Rusk, talks about his memories of Dean Rusk during the period of 1960-1968.William Willard Wirtz was a lawyer who served as secretary of labor for the Department of Labor from 1962-1969
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…
Willie G. Pope was born in 1947 and grew up just outside of Athens in Watkinsville, Georgia. He attended the segregated E.D. Stroud School, before moving to Athens High and Industrial after seventh grade, where he graduated the same year the school…
Willie Green Cutts talks about being raised by his grandmother and helping his grandfather with farming rather than finishing school. He discusses working as an entertainer, his experience as a farmer, and how he acquired his land. Cutts also shares…
Willie Green Sr. was born in Athens in 1966. He was raised in an Athens community called Pauldoe, and attended Oglethorpe Elementary, Clarke Middle, and Clarke Central High schools. He also attended Tennessee Military Institute in Sweetwater,…
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 Burney-Harris High School in 1967, Hull participated in several Civil Rights protests in…
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…
Wilucia Green is the second youngest of Dr. Donarell R. Green Jr.’s six children. Wilucia and her sister were two of the five Black children to integrate Athens Clarke County Public Schools in 1963. In this interview she talks about the process of…
A resident of Brunswick and Glynn County since 1973, M. H. “Woody” Woodside has served as president of the Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce since 1985. He previously spent 11 years on the congressional staff of “Bo” Ginn and 3 years with…
William Wyche Fowler was elected to the Atlanta city council in 1975, and eventually became president of the council. Upon Andrew Young’s resignation, Fowler won a special election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1977. He served on the Ways…
Interview with Wyckliffe Austin Knox Jr., student patronage (intern). Topics include Jimmy Carter; Georgia gubernatorial election (1970); John F. Kennedy; Robert Kennedy; Richard B. Russell Foundation; U. S. Senate election (1966).
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…
Xernona Thomas was born in Athens in 1969 to a loving home in which she admits she was spoiled by attention. She was the first Black student to be enrolled in Athens Academy, but she finished her education within the Clarke County school system. In…
Yaffa Grossman was a member of the Ecological Society of America and a professor of biology at Beloit College. In this interview she discusses working in the ESA’s public affairs office and talks about her involvement with the ESA’s report on the…
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…
Yiceth Caicedo was born in Colombia and fled to Ecuador with her husband before she arrived in the United States in spring 2017 with her two young children. She had been in college studying sociology before she had to leave Colombia. Her husband…
Zandra Bell-McRoy is a band director at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, Georgia. Dr. Bell-McRoy discusses the demographics of the school, the school’s band program, and her path to teaching music. She also talks about her teacher training, why…
In this interview Zell Miller discusses his early life and political career. Miller served as lieutenant governor of Georgia from 1975 to 1991, was elected governor of Georgia in 1990, and served as a United States senator. As governor he founded the…
