About

This site examines various aspects of the Civil Rights Movement in Rome, Georgia during the 1960s and early 1970s. The Council of Independent of Colleges provided a significant portion of the funding through the Humanities Research for the Public Good Initiative. Students and faculty members in the Evans School of Humanities, the Arts, and Social Science at Berry College partnered with the Rome City School System to produce the materials hosted on this site.

Acknowledgements

  • Cameron Mallett, history & secondary education major at Berry College served as the primary researcher and project author;
  • Dr. Christy Jo Snider, Associate Professor History at Berry College served as the faculty mentor, project editor, and secondary researcher and author;
  • Dr. Thomas D. Kennedy, Professor of Philosophy and Dean of the Evans School of Humanities, the Arts and Social Sciences at Berry College served as the administrator responsible for external relations and project coordination; and
  • Michael C. O’Malley, Berry College archivist served as the collections specialist for the project.

Special Thanks

  • Rome City School System: Louis Byars, Superintendent of Schools; Dr. Leslie Dixon, Director of School Improvement; Tonya Woods, Grant Coordinator; Buffy Murphy, Professional Learning Specialist; and Dr. Nancy Edwards, Literacy and Social Studies Coordinator.
  • Special Collections staff at the Sara Hightower Library, Rome, GA
  • AJ Pesce, Acquisitions and E-Resource Coordinator, Berry College Memorial Library
  • Jeremy Katz, Director, Cuba Family Archives, the Breman Museum, Atlanta, GA
  • Joe Smith, Rome City Clerk
  • Russell McClanahan, Rome Area History Museum Archives
  • Lavada Dillard, 1963 sit-In participant and Main High School alumna
  • Evelyn Hamilton and Beverly Smith, Berry College alumnae
  • Steven Bell, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Berry College and former president of the Rome Council on Human Relations
  • Katherine Mabbs, history major and student research assistant at Berry College
  • Staff at the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, & Rare Book Library, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
  • DeShon Battle, Berry College alumnus
  • Laurie H. Chandler, Director of the Bonner Center for Community Engagement at Berry College
  • Jimmy Hardy, Main High School alumnus and advocate for expanding economic opportunities for African Americans in Rome during the early 1970s
  • Matthew Forrester, Senior System Engineer at Berry College
  • Laura Caldwell Anderson, Director of Operations, Alabama Humanities Foundation
  • Mike Porter, former Rome resident who shared photos taken by his father, William “Bill” A. Porter
  • Bianca Van Buren, Atlanta resident who shared photos of Horace T. Ward