The Atlanta Student Movement Project is a research project funded by a generous grant from the Rich Foundation, conducted by KSU undergraduate and graduate students, and led by Dr. Jeanne Law, Professor of English, Dr. Lonnie King, and Ahlan Filstrup. The oral histories in this collection represent the goal of the project: uncovering and preserving the history of Atlanta sit-ins and student protests that were pivotal in the success of the Student Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, and the history of the city of Atlanta as a whole. Videos and transcripts in this collection have been archived at the KSU Archives.

Formed early in 1960, the Atlanta Student Movement was one part of the larger Civil Rights Movement. The group was comprised of students from university campuses that were part of the Atlanta University Center (AUC), a consortium of higher education centers for African-Americans that included Atlanta University, Clark College, Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse College, Morris Brown, and Spelman College.

Atlanta Student Movement leaders, participants, and advocates include the following people, whose stories from the Movement project participants plan to record and make available in this collection:

Herschelle Sullivan Challenor (Spelman); Norma June Wilson Davis (Spelman); Marion Wright Edleman (Spelman); Marilyn Pryce Hoyt (Spelman); Gwendolyn Middlebrooks (Spelman); Roslyn Pope (Spelman); Annie Ruth Simmons (Clark); Lenora Taitt (Spelman); Eva Kendrick Wollert (Clark); Birdie Hix Carter; Charles Black (Morehouse); Morris Dillard (Morehouse); James Felder (Clark); Frank Holloway (Morehouse); John Mack (Atlanta University); Otis Moss (ITC); Johnny Parham (Morehouse); Joseph Pegues (Morehouse); and Frank Smith (Morehouse).

The students also depended on advocates such as Sarah Stevens, Senator LeRoy and Cleopatra Johnson, and many others in communities both local and nationwide.

For more information, please visit the project website at ATLStudentmovement.kennesaw.edu

The digital reproductions on this site are provided for research consultation and educational purposes. To request permission to publish, reproduce, publicly display, broadcast, or distribute this material in any format outside of fair use, please contact the Kennesaw State University Archives.

News

In 2017, students from the School of Communication developed a video for their senior capstone that describes the public humanities work of the #ATLStudentmovement Project. View the video: Voices of the Young: The #ATLStudentmovement Project.


Have a story about the Atlanta Student Movement that you want to share? We want to include it in our project!

Contact Jeanne Law by email or phone at 470-578-7380.

Recent Submissions

  • Dr. Gwendolyn Middlebrooks Interview 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2019-03-06)
    Oral history interview with Dr. Gwendolyn Middlebrooks, a leader in the Atlanta Student Movement in the 1960s.
  • Charles Black Interview 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2019-03-06)
    Oral history interview with Charles Black, a leader in the Atlanta Student Movement in the 1960s.
  • Dr. Lonnie King Class Lecture 2016 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-08-04)
    Guest lecture delivered to students and faculty in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kennesaw State University in 2016.
  • Marilyn Pryce Hoytt Interview 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-08-04)
    Oral history interview with Marilyn Pryce Hoytt, a Foot Soldier in the Atlanta Student Movement.
  • Stories from the Trenches: Women on the Move(ments), 1940s-2018 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-07-26)
    The 2018 Women's History Month finale panel, Stories from the Trenches: Women in Civil Rights from 1940s to 2018.
  • Remembering the Women of the Student Movement 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-07-26)
    The 2017 Women's History Month finale panel, Remembering the Women of the Student Movement, featuring alumni from the Atlanta Student Movement.
  • Birdie Hix Carter Interview 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-07-26)
    Oral history interview with Birdie Hix Carter, a veteran of the Atlanta Student Movement.
  • Dr. Herschelle Sullivan Challenor Interview 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-06-07)
    Oral history interview with Herschelle Sullivan Challenor, co-chair of the Atlanta Student Movement.
  • Dr. Roslyn Pope Interview 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-06-07)
    Oral history interview with Roslyn Pope, author of "An Appeal for Human Rights" and a leader in the Atlanta Student Movement.
  • Dr. Lonnie King Class Lecture 2017 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-06-07)
    Guest lecture delivered to students and faculty in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Kennesaw State University in 2017.
  • Dr. Lonnie King Interview 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-05-21)
    Oral history interview with Dr. Lonnie King, Jr., the chair of the Atlanta Student Movement.
  • June Wilson Davis Interview 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-05-21)
    Oral history interview with Norma June Wilson Davis, an organizing captain in the Atlanta Student Movement.
  • Sarah Stephens Interview 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-04-18)
    Oral history interview with Sarah Stephens, a community advocate for the Atlanta Student Movement.
  • Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. Interview 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-04-18)
    Oral history interview with Otis Moss, a leader in the Atlanta Student Movement.
  • Morris Dillard Interview 

    Bohannon, Jeanne Law (2018-04-18)
    Oral history interview with Morris Dillard, a leader in the Atlanta Student Movement.