About the Project: Faculty

The Foot Soldier Project is a collaborative and interdisciplinary project. The research team for the project includes scholars from the fields of social work, education, history, journalism, African American Studies, and the Richard B. Russell Library. Partners include:

Dr. Maurice Daniels, Professor and Dean of Social Work

Maurice C. Daniels is professor and dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia, and the founder and director of The Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies and Research. He is the author of Horace T. Ward: Desegregation of the University of Georgia, Civil Rights Advocacy, and Jurisprudence. His interest in Horace T. Ward’s quest for social justice grows out of his longstanding personal and professional commitment to civil rights issues and history. Daniels is the senior researcher and executive producer of Foot Soldier for Equal Justice, a two-part, award-winning public television documentary that chronicles Ward’s story, the history of the desegregation of the University of Georgia, and the NAACP’s success in challenging segregation in higher education. Dr. Daniels teaches in the areas of civil rights and community empowerment, and is the author of various scholarly articles and national conference papers focusing on civil rights and social justice issues.

Dr. Derrick Alridge, Associate Professor of Education

Dr. Derrick P. Alridge is an associate professor and historian in the Qualitative Research Program in the College of Education at the University of Georgia. He is also the co-director of the Foot Soldier Project for Civil Rights Studies. With Dr. Maurice Daniels, Alridge served as senior researcher and executive director for the television documentary Hamilton E. Holmes: The Legacy Continues, which has aired several times on Georgia Public Broadcasting. Professor Alridge's areas of research include African American educational and intellectual history and civil rights studies. His work has been published in journals, such as the Journal of African American History (formerly the Journal of Negro History) and the Journal of Negro Education. He has also served as an assistant, associate, and guest editor for the Journal of African American History. Alridge has been the recipient of several awards, which include a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship and a National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship. He is currently the Carl D. Glickman Faculty Fellow in the College of Education. Professor Alridge has two books under contract, entitled The Educational Thought of W.E.B. Du Bois: An Intellectual History and W.E.B. Du Bois: Of Race and Identity, Family and Community, and Education (with Dr. James B. Stewart at Penn State University).

Dr. Dwight Brooks, Associate Professor of Journalism

Dr. Dwight E. Brooks is an Associate Professor in the Department of Telecommunications at the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Brooks teaches and researches in the areas of media criticism, cultural studies, media literacy, and electronic media programming. His research on race, gender and the media, and African American history and mediated cultural experiences in particular, appear in several academic journals. He also has published several book chapters. Dr. Brooks recently was recognized been recognized by the National Communication Association’s Black Caucus as a “Pioneer” for his ongoing commitment to African American scholarship and service. Brooks serves as the Faculty Advisor for the UGA Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. Dr. Brooks also serves as co-Coordinator of the Michael J. Faherty Broadcast Management Laboratory. Dr. Brooks successfully integrates research, teaching and service with a commitment to social justice, equity and diversity. His research, teaching and service initiatives offer innovative ways of understanding issues of media and society of import to scholars, students, practitioners, audiences and consumers. Brooks is committed to a critical media pedagogy that emphasizes media literacy—especially for students in grades K through 12. He recently received a teaching award from the Grady College’s Department of Telecommunications. Dr. Brooks has worked in professional radio as an air personality, journalist and producer. Among his credits is his role as producer of a series for pubic radio on African American composers.

Dr. Vickie Crawford, Associate Professor of History, Clark Atlanta University

Dr. Vickie Crawford is co-editor of Women in the Civil Rights Movement, Trailblazers and Torchbearers and the author of several articles on women's activism in the southern Civil Rights Movement. Her scholarship includes an article on "African American Women in the Twenty-First Century: The Continuing Challenge," in the American Woman 2000 and several entries in Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia. Dr. Crawford has extensive experience in public history and has conducted oral history workshops for public school teachers at the Atlanta History Center and the Museum of the New South in Charlotte, North Carolina. She has been recipient of a Harvard Administrative Fellowship and is currently serving as Associate Professor and Department chair at Clark Atlanta University. She is currently engaged in research on the role of teachers in school desegregation in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Cheryl Dozier, Associate Professor of Social Work

Dr. Cheryl Davenport Dozier is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Georgia, School of Social Work in Athens, Georgia. She currently is the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Gwinnett University Center campus of UGA. She is also an affiliate faculty member in the African Studies Institute and the Director of the Ghana Study Abroad Program. Dr. Dozier research and teaching is in the areas of substance abuse, practice methods, spirituality, administration & supervision, cultural diversity and international social work.

Dr. Dozier received a Doctorate in Social Welfare (DSW) from Hunter College, at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 1994. Dr. Dozier has published five book chapters and eight journal articles in professional journals. She currently is working on a book entitled, Rites of Passage Programs: Models for Enhancing Cultural Esteem in African American Youth and an article entitled Social Justice, Ethics and Diversity: An application of Dr. M .L. King Speeches to social work practice. She is an active member and officer of many professional and civic organizations, including the National Association of Black Social Workers where she serves as National Vice President.

Dr. Tracey D. Ford

Dr. Tracey D. Ford currently serves as the Assistant Dean of Students in the African American Cultural Center at the University of Georgia.  Her primary responsibilities include developing academic and research programs for the center, advising student groups, developing student leadership programs, and working with faculty and staff to enrich the learning environment.  Dr. Ford received her doctorate in Higher Education from the University of Georgia. Her research areas include race, class and gender in higher education.  She is particularly interested in k-12 and higher education policies that impact the access and retention of underrepresented students.  More specifically she is interested in the financial, social and academic experiences of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged pre-college and college students.  Dr. Ford co-founded the ASPIRE pre-collegiate enrichment program at UGA which exposes middle school students to college admissions, financial aid and campus life.  Dr. Ford has presented at numerous conferences and she serves as a diversity and equity consultant to community based organizations.

Amy S. Gellins

Amy S. Gellins is a native of Savannah, Georgia, and was educated in Georgia's public school system.  She received her B.A. degree in 1982, and her J.D. degree in 1985, from The University of Georgia.  Gellins has spent virtually all of her legal career assisting individuals who could not afford to pay for legal representation.  In April, 2002, she received recognition as the Outstanding Public Interest Attorney from The University of Georgia School of Law's Equal Justice Foundation.  From 2001-present, Gellins has represented indigent individuals in pending criminal cases as they strive to address the underlying issues leading them to crime and to become productive, law-abiding citizens.  From 1986-2003, she represented public and private employees in federal civil rights cases.  She also had the honor of appearing before the Honorable Horace T. Ward on two such cases.  Gellins also served as an Adjunct Professor at UGA's School of Law from 1999-2003, assisting with public interest-related courses including one on "Race and the Law." Gellins has lectured at numerous legal seminars on employee rights, and has authored articles about criminal justice issues.  Gellins has served as a member of the Clarke County School District's Multicultural Task Force from 2002-present.

Dr. R. Baxter Miller, Professor of English and Director of the Institute for African American Studies

Dr. Miller, Professor of English and Director of the Institute for African American Studies, holds a Ph.D. from Brown University. He was honored among Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 2004, won the American Book Award in 1991, and the Langston Hughes Prize in 2001. IN 1986-87 he was a National Research Council Senior Fellow. His seven books include The Southern Trace of Black Critical Theory (1991) and The Art and Imagination of Langston Hughes (1989), which won the American Book Award for 1991. His collaborative edition titled Black American Literature and Humanism (1981) won international acclaim, and a subsequent one titled Black American Poets Between Worlds, 1940-1960 (1986) became an academic bestseller. A research tool, his Reference Guide to Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks (1978) has become a standard source. Miller, who has written scores of chapters, articles, and reviews for professional journals, is a co-author and co-editor (with General Editor Patricia Liggins Hill, et. al.) of Call and Response: The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998) and invited editor of the recent edition, The Short Stories: Collected Works of Langston Hughes, 15 (Missouri 2002) in the centennial series.

Janice Reaves, Director of Marketing & Community Relations, Georgia Department of Labor

Janice Reaves is director of Marketing & Community Relations for the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL), a position she's held since 2000. She is responsible for the department's marketing strategy and directs publicity programs to targeted audiences of jobseekers and employers. She also serves as editor of the Labor Department's official newsletter, The Beacon and produces GDOL's annual televised job fair which airs live on Georgia Public Broadcasting. Ms. Reaves served as producer/director for Foot Soldier for Equal Justice, a two-part, award-winning public television documentary that focuses on the life of federal Judge Horace T. Ward. She was the producer for more than thirty rare interviews of civil rights figures and leading public officials from Georgia and around the country, including Ward and fellow federal judge Constance Baker Motley, attorneys Donald Hollowell and Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Dr. Hamilton Earl Holmes, former U.S. senator Herman Talmadge, and former Georgia governor Ernest Vandiver. These interviews are now archived in the historical collection of the Russell Library Foot Soldier Project. Reaves also served as producer for the television documentary: Hamilton E. Holmes: The Legacy Continues, which has aired numerous times on Georgia Public Broadcasting, and continues her work as a producer with the Foot Soldier Project. She is a member of the National Association of Broadcast Journalist, a graduate of Valdosta State University (VSU) and will receive her MPA this spring from VSU. She has more than 15 years of experience as a television producer/ director.

Jill Severn, Access and Outreach Archivist, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

Jill Severn is the head of the Access and Outreach Unit of the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, position she has held since 2000. She is a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists. Ms. Severn is an active member of the Society of American Archivists where she has served on the steering committee for the Congressional Papers Roundtable and is currently serving on the steering committee for the Manuscript Repositories Section. She manages the development of collaborative endeavors such as the Foot Soldier Project. She also oversees the development of projects and activities designed to raise awareness of the collections and services of the Russell Library and to expand and refine services to current and potential users. Ms. Severn is the author of several conference papers centered on the place and function of material culture in archival collections.

Craig Breaden, Media and Oral History Archivist, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

Craig Breaden is head of the Media and Oral History Unit of the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. Mr. Breaden came to the Russell Library in January 2006. He holds an M.S.L.S. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2005), and an M.A. in history from Utah State University (1992). He has authored articles and book reviews for scholarly journals, including the Utah Historical Quarterly, Montana The Magazine of Western History, the American Indian Quarterly, and the American Archivist. He is a member of the Society of American Archivists, the Association of Moving Image Archivists, and the Association of Recorded Sound Collections. Mr. Breaden is interested in the juncture of media preservation and access, as well as methods of media presentation online. In addition to advising in the production and presentation of oral histories in the Russell Library, he oversees the preservation, description, and playback of media in the Foot Soldier Project collection and other collections in the Russell Library.

Sheryl Vogt, Director, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

Sheryl B. Vogt is director of the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia Libraries, a position she has held since 1979. Responsible for the administration and development of the Russell Library, she has fostered a program that acquires, preserves, and makes available historical materials representing the broadest range of modern political and policy subject matter and engages in strategic partnerships such as those with the university’s Foot Soldier Project and the Center for International Trade and Security. Ms. Vogt is a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists. She has held appointments to the Advisory Committee on the Records of Congress and the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board. Currently, Ms. Vogt serves on the Executive Committee of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress. She is the author of various articles and national conference papers on congressional archives and holdings of the Russell Library.

Foot Soldier Project © 2006