Spring Break
University strives to continue Southern civil rights traditions
CLAIRE MILLER
Issue date: 1/19/07 Section: Variety
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As civil rights leaders fade into the past, both students and faculty said the University is doing an exceptional job at preserving their lives and legacies.
As the celebrations continued this week, the University community honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but mourned the recent loss of another guiding force.
Dora McDonald, King's personal secretary, passed away just two days before the national holiday that commemorates her former boss. McDonald died of complications from cancer at age 81.
Rosa Parks, the face of the Montgomery bus boycotts, was 92 when she died on Oct. 24, 2005.
The events this week are just one part of the University's efforts to preserve King's legacy, said Cheryl Dozier, the associate provost for the Office of Institutional Diversity.
"I think we're preserving the legacy through the research of scholars on campus," Dozier said. "There's a new exhibit at the Main Library devoted to the Civil Rights Movement, and there's also the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies at the Russell Library."
She also said the next logical step is to make the information about the movement more readily available to students.
"All the information is here, but how visible is it to the student looking for it?" she said. "That's what we need to work on."
A good way to remember people like Parks and McDonald is to discuss their work in class, said Chana Kai Lee, an associate professor in the history department.
"[McDonald's] passing brought to mind that strong women did a lot of the heavy lifting during the Civil Rights Movement," Lee said. "I teach about these women as central, behind-the-scenes folks."
Lee also said she thinks the University community is doing an excellent job in carrying on King's legacy compared to other schools.
"I used to teach at the University of Florida, and before that I lived in California," Lee said. "I think the state of Georgia has done a lot since this is his home state, and UGA has done a lot more since I came here in 1999."
As the celebrations continued this week, the University community honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but mourned the recent loss of another guiding force.
Dora McDonald, King's personal secretary, passed away just two days before the national holiday that commemorates her former boss. McDonald died of complications from cancer at age 81.
Rosa Parks, the face of the Montgomery bus boycotts, was 92 when she died on Oct. 24, 2005.
The events this week are just one part of the University's efforts to preserve King's legacy, said Cheryl Dozier, the associate provost for the Office of Institutional Diversity.
"I think we're preserving the legacy through the research of scholars on campus," Dozier said. "There's a new exhibit at the Main Library devoted to the Civil Rights Movement, and there's also the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies at the Russell Library."
She also said the next logical step is to make the information about the movement more readily available to students.
"All the information is here, but how visible is it to the student looking for it?" she said. "That's what we need to work on."
A good way to remember people like Parks and McDonald is to discuss their work in class, said Chana Kai Lee, an associate professor in the history department.
"[McDonald's] passing brought to mind that strong women did a lot of the heavy lifting during the Civil Rights Movement," Lee said. "I teach about these women as central, behind-the-scenes folks."
Lee also said she thinks the University community is doing an excellent job in carrying on King's legacy compared to other schools.
"I used to teach at the University of Florida, and before that I lived in California," Lee said. "I think the state of Georgia has done a lot since this is his home state, and UGA has done a lot more since I came here in 1999."
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