Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

Richard B. Russell Library forms partnership
with the "Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies"
December 2001

The "Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies" and the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia have forged a partnership to chronicle Georgia’s rich history in the civil rights movement. The new venture, focusing on the "unsung foot soldiers" of the movement, will establish UGA as one of the premier institutions in the nation for the study of civil rights.

The foundation for the project is "Foot Soldier for Equal Justice: Horace T. Ward and the Desegregation of the University of Georgia," the award-winning documentary by UGA social work professor Maurice Daniels. Research from this documentary yielded more than 30 rare interviews of civil rights figures in Georgia and from around the country, including Ward and fellow federal judge Constance Baker Motley, attorneys Donald Hollowell and Vernon Jordan, U.S. Sen. Herman Talmadge and former Georgia governor Ernest Vandiver. The vision of the Foot Soldier Project is to expand this endeavor to collect additional archival and documentary materials that can be used by researchers involved in issues dealing with civil rights, social justice and policy reform.

For further information, please refer to the official UGA press release (12/19/01).