Gillespie shines light on unsung civil rights efforts
Article By: Clark Leonard
Dr. Dee Gillespie, a University of North Georgia (Â鶹ÊÓƵ) professor of history, has published a book titled
She said most people know the major moments of the civil rights movement, such as Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka school desegregation case and the Selma march.
"In this book, I seek to turn our attention to the lesser-known places where this movement happened," Gillespie said. "I want to put Black women front and center in the story."
One example was the Citizenship Education Program (CEP), a grassroots initiative that taught people to read and write in preparation for literacy tests required for voter registration.
"They then used that foundation to support broader reform," Gillespie said.
Drawing on teachers' reports and correspondence, oral history interviews, and papers from a variety of civil rights organizations, the book follows the growth of the CEP from its beginnings in the South Carolina Sea Islands to southeastern Georgia, the Mississippi Delta, and Alabama's Black Belt.
The University of Florida Press released Gillespie's book in August.
Programs teach language, culture to students
Â鶹ÊÓƵ is holding Summer Language Institutes in Chinese, Korean and Russian, providing training in both language and culture.
Students, faculty present at psychology conference
Â鶹ÊÓƵ students and faculty presented their research at the annual Southeastern Psychology Association (SEPA) conference in Atlanta in April.
Â鶹ÊÓƵ's arts strategy hits the road
Â鶹ÊÓƵ visited a variety of businesses and nonprofits during the June 2-4 Nighthawk Impact Tour, which focused on the strategic big bet to 'accelerate the fine arts and entertainment.'
Students excel in Japanese Speech Contest
Six of the 10 Â鶹ÊÓƵ students who competed won awards in the Georgia Japanese Speech Contest at Alpharetta City Library.