Atlanta is know as the "cradle of the Civil Rights Movement", and it became the center of the movement between 1940 - 1970 as black leaders fought for voting rights, access to public facilities and institutions, and economic and educational opportunities for African Americans. This one-day trip to Atlanta includes a morning tour of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park featuring his birth home, crypt, and eternal flame. Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church Sanctuary and Freedom Hall. A private lunch will be provided by historic Mary Mac's Tearoom. Established in 1945 it is now the last of 16 tea rooms once found in downtown Atlanta. After lunch the tour continues at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, a museum and cultural institution that connects the US Civil Rights Movement to human rights challenges across the world today.

For those concerned about racism in this country, this beautifully written book will make a difference. As one reviewer notes: “Informed by scholarship and brought to life by the stories of people living today, Dr. Smith’s debut work of nonfiction is a landmark of reflection and insight that offers a new understanding of the hopeful role that memory and history can play in making sense of our country and how it has come to be” Each section of the class will focus on discussion of about fifty pages of Dr. Smith’s book. Participants should have read the fifty pages before each class.

On June 10, 1688, the wife of the king of England (James II) gave birth to a baby boy...Or did she? Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury, and others said no. The baby that Queen Mary claimed to have given birth to was actually smuggled into the birth chamber in a warming pan, they asserted. There was no child born, and, therefore, no male heir to the throne of England, or so they said. In this class, we will examine this bit of sensational "news," and the purpose it served for the politicians of the day.

Beginning with the informal, civic commemoration events following the end of the US Civil War to the formalization of Memorial Day, in 1970, the US honors her fallen service members in a variety of ways and locations. With the formation of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) following WW I, the US established overseas cemeteries in Europe. Today, across western Europe, the US maintains cemeteries and monuments to commemorates her fallen of both wars. We will look at one fallen GI from Georgia and how he is memorialized in France.

This session will explore the lives of some of the people enslaved by Mary Ann Lamar, her brother John Basil Lamar, and her husband Howell Cobb. The Cobb-Lamars built a political empire on land and cotton, yet it all hinged on the forced labor of others. After mapping the underlying structures that supported the wealth and power of the Cobb-Lamar family, the presenters will then explore how those same pathways were used by the enslaved to function within the existing system, confront the limitations placed on them, challenge what they felt were its worst injustices, and try to shape the boundaries of their own lives.

UGA’s iconic North Campus features buildings and spaces -- many more than a century old-that are architecturally diverse, aesthetically charming, and rich in history, lore, and legend. In a specially made OLLI video, you will get a close-up look at these landmarks on a virtual walking tour starting at the Arch and covering much of the North Campus area. Visit the oldest building in Athens...the beautiful UGA Chapel...the site of the first murder on campus...the charming Founders Memorial Garden...and the field where the first college football game in Georgia was played. The presenter will be available for questions after the presentation.

This is the third in an OLLI@UGA series on Patton's Third Army. General Patton's fame rose to new heights following the relief of Batogne and the erasure of the "Bulge" during December 1944-January 1945. Difficult fighting lay ahead as the Third Army crossed the Our River in early February and fought their way towards the ultimate goal of a Rhine River crossing. Combat in the wine country of the Mosel River proved to be more costly than expected, with the German Army contesting every village in desperate fighting.

This is a PowerPoint illustrated exploration of American medicines from colonial times to the present. It includes a live reenactment of an old-time medicine show pitchman's act like the ones that toured small-town America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It also exposes the quacks and criminals that freely duped an eager, paying audience, the appeal that made these health promoters successful, and the growth of government regulations to inspire a level of trust in the medicines available today. (This program is offered in conjunction with a public Einstein Chautauqua program presented the night before.)

In 1954 the Supreme Court ruled that state laws establishing segregated schools are unconstitutional. Known as a seminal Supreme Court case and civil rights victory, Brown v. Board of Education resulted from many legal battles that predicated its existence. Dr. Martinez-Cola writes about the many important cases that led to the culmination of Brown. She reveals that the road to Brown is lined with "bricks" representing at least one hundred other families who legally challenged segregated schooling in state and federal courts across the country, eleven of which involved Chinese Americans, Native Americans, and Mexican Americans.

TBA

The Reconstruction Era (1865-1877) is one of the most misunderstood periods in American history. This class will summarize the new history of Reconstruction which describes the era as a major civil war. The War of Reconstruction was fought in southern states for the control of state governments. This brutal civil war had a range of villains and heroes that make for a compelling and tragic narrative. We will examine this new history and its implications for the meaning of the Civil War and modern America.

Issues of race, history, and culture simmer just below the surface of our everyday lives. Few take time to talk “calmly and rationally” about how we Americans can reconcile the past to build a common future using logic, reason, and data. How do well-meaning people help a community move beyond its past when confronted by those who hold ingrained stereotypes, profit from maintaining the status quo, or are filled with antipathy toward others? Arthur Dunning, an accomplished African American higher education administrator, journeyed through this quagmire as he led the consolidation of the historically black Albany State University and the historically white two-year college in Albany, Darton State College.

The fight during World War II for New Guinea was long and bloody. Soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Army had a saying: "Heaven is Java, hell is Burma, but no one returns alive from New Guinea.” For almost four years the Japanese struggled to hold on to the jungle-clogged island. General Douglas MacArthur led the American Army in defeating the Japanese. The strategy of tying up needed personnel, planes, ships, and supplies helped the Americans fight in two areas of the Pacific.

WWII was truly a global war, and women took an active part in their country’s battles. In the United States, 350,000 women served as uniformed auxiliaries in non-combat roles in the U.S. armed forces. These roles included administration, nurses, truck drivers, mechanics, electricians, and auxiliary pilots. In some countries, women were active in combat as well. This class will focus on the direct contribution of women to military activities in several countries during that conflict.

WWII was truly a global war, and women took an active part in their country’s battles. In the United States, 350,000 women served as uniformed auxiliaries in non-combat roles in the U.S. armed forces. These roles included administration, nurses, truck drivers, mechanics, electricians, and auxiliary pilots. In some countries, women were active in combat as well. This class will focus on the direct contribution of women to military activities in several countries during that conflict.

Hattie Whitehead will describe her early childhood years in the 1960s and how her life and the lives of other Linnentown families changed the moment the City of Athens and the University of Georgia entered into an Urban Renewal (UR) contract. As a result of UR, Linnentown properties were taken for the university’s expansion, residents were forced to move, and families were separated. Decades later, Whitehead chronicled life in Linnentown and her leadership role in seeking justice on behalf of Linnentown and its first descendants. Her goal is to give voice to a once vibrant and thriving community that was erased.

This course will focus on how the US built the US Army Air Force into a war winning combat force. Beginning with a small, immature organization, the US Army designs, builds, organizes, trains and deploys potent, multi-faceted force that devastated Nazi Germany. We will witness the struggles, on the ground and in the air, that shaped the USAAF.