Individuals Interviewed for the Veterans of Hope Project Video Archive,
1997- 2004

Ms. Victoria Jackson Gray Adams, United Methodist lay leader and co-founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, was one of the most courageous participants in the southern black freedom movement of the 1960s. Gray Adams was the first woman to run for US Senate from the state of Mississippi. An educator and activist for human rights, she has developed models of citizenship education for a variety of organizations nationwide. In 1997, Victoria Gray Adams founded the Tony West Gray Jr. Freedom School, an educational empowerment program for grade school students. The school was named for her son, who died of HIV/AIDS.

• The Fannie Lou Hamer Project (FLHP)
  The Project is a national educational advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening democracy through bringing justice and equity to the campaign finance system. It operates under the motto “Campaign Finance Reform is a Civil Rights Issue.” The Project’s efforts are guided by a civil rights framework which unifies a diversity of African Americans, Latino’s Asians, women, gays, ex-offenders, the disadvantaged and their allies while promoting an end to political and economic decisions resting in the hands of the good old boys and the wealthy. Ms. Jackson Gray Adams is a member of the Board of Directors of the Fannie Lou Hamer Project. Her biography is given on this page. Link
• University of South Mississippi-McCain Library and Archives
  The McCain Library houses “The Victoria Gray Adams Papers” which contain a broad array of materials that document the life and work of Ms. Victoria Jackson Gray Adams. The content and scope of the manuscripts is given on this website. Link

Rev. Dr. Ndugu T'Ofori Atta is professor emeritus of Church and Society at the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, GA. Dr. T’Ofori Atta is founder and director of the Religious Heritage of the African World project. An ordained minister of the AME Zion church, T’Ofori Atta worked as a missionary in the former Belgian Congo in the 1950s and 60s where he made important links to the Kimbanguist independent African church movement. He is a founding organizer of the Pan African Christian Conference.

• The Religious Heritage of the African World Project
  This is an essential project of the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) in Atlanta, GA. The Project, directed by Dr. T’Ofori Atta, seeks to promote Black heritage, freedom and justice. More information about the Project’s activities can be found on this website. Link

Prof. John Biggers was an acclaimed painter, muralist and sculptor. Prof. Biggers, who died in early 2001, was a major elder-statesman of the African American visual arts tradition. A native of Gastonia, North Carolina, Biggers was the first African American painter to receive a USIA grant to West Africa and spent a year in Ghana in the late 1950s. His body of work is an extraordinary synthesis of religious symbols and meanings from various parts of the African diaspora. During his life he had major one-person exhibitions at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts and at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

• ArtsEdNet
  This is an art education website, which contains teaching tools for art and information on John Biggers. John Biggers’ biography is given on this website. Link
• An interview with John Biggers that examines influences that shaped his art, life and spirit. Link

Dr. Grace Lee Boggs is a Chinese-American organizer who represents six decades of northern urban organizing, thoughtful social analysis, and unfailing belief in the human capacity for transformation. Co-author of Revolution and Evolution in the Twentieth Century, she recently published an autobiography, Living for Change. In her eighties, Boggs continues to work for compassionate social transformation from her base in Detroit, thinking globally, acting locally.

• James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership, Detroit.
  James and Grace Lee Boggs are the founders of this organization whose activities are designed to help community activists develop themselves into visionary leaders and critical thinkers. Link

Ms. Anne Braden, a native of Alabama, is one of the unsung group of native white southerners who were deeply committed to the African American freedom movement of the 1950s and 60s. Co-founder of the Southern Conference Education Fund, Braden worked closely with such movement leaders as Ella Baker, Septima Clark and Fred Shuttlesworth. Her early autobiography, The Wall Between, was recently republished.

• Human and Constitutional Rights Resource Page.
  This is a website that includes constitutional rights, charts and links to human rights and constitutional rights websites, hot topics and other resources. This page features a profile of Anne Braden. Link
• The Southern Organizing Committee for Economic and Social Justice (SOC)
  This is a Southwide multi-issue, multi-racial network of people working in communities against racism, war, economic injustice and environmental destruction. Anne Braden and Fred Shuttlesworth are co-chairs of this organization. Link

Ms. Elizabeth Catlett Mora is an internationally renowned, African American sculptor and print-maker who has lived in Mexico since 1946. A deeply socially-conscious artist, Ms. Mora has been for many years involved in Mexican and U.S. artistic movements that are related to social justice activism. Her images, often of women, celebrate the dignity, beauty and wisdom of working and marginalized people.

• The International Sculpture Center
  The Center is a member-supported, nonprofit organization founded in 1960. Members include sculptors, collectors, patrons, architects, developers, journalists, curators, historians, critics, educators, foundries, galleries, and museums—anyone with an interest in and commitment to the field of sculpture. The Center advances the creation and understanding of sculpture and its unique, vital contribution to society. This page contains some of Elizabeth Catlett’s work.Link
• The Chrysler Museum of Art
  Ms. Catlett’s works of art are displayed on this website.Link

Dorothy Cotton is a national leader in democratic citizenship education. Cotton was one of Dr. King’s stalwart co-workers in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in the 1960s. She directed the Citizenship Education Program and many of the voter registration campaigns of SCLC. Currently she lectures and leads workshops on women’s development issues, race relations, nonviolence and civic participation.

• National Citizenship School
  The National Citizenship School was convened by Ms. Dorothy Cotton. The school provides citizenship education based on civic organizing efforts across the country. It acts as a primary resource to the Minnesota Active Citizenship Initiative in the Midwest, Civic Investment California in the West and the Southern Citizenship School. Link
• Fellowship of Reconciliation FOR -Peace Justice and Nonviolence
  This is an interfaith organization that is committed to active nonviolence as a personally transforming way of life as well as a means of radical social change. Ms. Cotton was one of the speakers at the Organization’s 90th Anniversary National Conference. Link
• Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
  With Martin Luther King, Jr. at its helm, and many others such as Andrew Young, Ralph Abernathy and C.T. Vivian among its officers, SCLC was one of the major organizations of the southern freedom movement. From 1960 to 1972, Ms. Dorothy Cotton was director of education for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Link
• The King Center
  The Kings Center seeks to create a beloved community described by Martin Luther Kings, Jr., in his speeches, sermons, and writings. It embraces King’s vision of a world where nonviolence is way of life. Ms. Dorothy Cotton served as Vice President for Field Operations for the Center. Link

Ms. Ruth Denny is a Baptist lay leader and Denver-based community activist. Ms. Denny was director of the Denver chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) during the late 1960s. She is also an educator and was one of the teachers who helped desegregate Denver schools.

• The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE.)
  CORE is a civil rights group that works for equality for all people regardless of race, creed, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or ethnic background. In pursuing its aim, CORE seeks to identify and expose acts of discrimination in public and private sectors of society. The national headquarters of CORE is located in New York City. Ms Denny was the director of the Denver Chapter of this organization during the late 1960s. Link

Mr. Vine Deloria is a Lakota Indian historian and legal activist. Mr. Deloria is also professor emeritus of History and American Indian Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. An internationally-recognized elder statesman of the American Indian rights struggle, Deloria is founder of the Institute for the Development of Indian Law and advisor and board member to numerous legal, cultural and community organizations nationwide. He is a prolific writer whose books include, God is Red, Custer Died for Your Sins and Singing for a Spirit.

• Indigenous People’s Literature.
  This is a non-profit educational resource and collaboration dedicated to the indigenous peoples of the world and to the enrichment it can bring to all people. Vine Deloria’s work is featured on this website
  Link
• Native American Authors project
  This website provides information on Native North American authors with bibliographies of their published works, biographical information, and links to online resources including interviews, online texts and tribal websites. Currently the website primarily contains information on contemporary Native American authors, although some historical authors are represented. Vine Deloria’s work is featured on this website Link

Mme. Katherine Dunham, one of our nation's great dancer-choreographers, is in her nineties now. As a scholar (anthropologist) and artist, Mme. Dunham pioneered a lexicon of Afro-Caribbean dance forms which remains very influential in contemporary modern dance. Hers was among the first African American dance companies to perform internationally and was responsible for challenging discriminatory laws in places like the southern United States and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She also developed an innovative school of the arts and humanities in Harlem, New York. In more recent years, Mme. Dunham has been involved establishing important cultural programs in East St. Louis, Illinois and organizing on behalf of democracy on Haiti.

• The HistoryMakers
  The HistoryMakers is a national non-profit video oral history archive headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and dedicated to preserving African American history. Mme Katherine Dunham is featured on this website. Link
• Chickenbones: A Journal
  This is a website sponsored by ChickenBones Education, Arts, and Literary Society, Inc. (CEALS, Inc.) or known simply as the "ChickenBones Society." The Journal is interested in the cultural and artistic productions of African America. They are also interested in the writings of African, Asian, Latin, and Hispanic writers. An essay on Mme Dunham appears in this journal. Link

Ms. Julia Esquivel is a Guatemalan poet, lay pastor and human rights worker. Ms. Esquivel lived in exile from her country for nearly a decade as a result of her work on behalf of justice for indigenous Mayan people. Author of two collections of poems, Threatened with Resurrection and The Certainty of Spring, Esquivel continues to work for human rights and nonviolent conflict resolution in Central America.

• The Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean (EPICA)
  is a nonprofit, faith-based organization in solidarity with the poor of Central America, Mexico & the Caribbean. Some of Ms. Julia Esquivel’s books have been published by this organization. Link

Mr. James Farmer was a founder of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). A native of Texas and graduate of the Howard University School of Religion, he considered the “secular” task of working for racial democracy as the essence of his ministry. In that spirit he was a major organizer of the CORE-sponsored Freedom Rides that led to the end of racial discrimination in interstate travel in 1961. Farmer passed in 1999.

• The Congress of Racial Equality (C.O.R.E.)
  CORE is a civil rights group that aims to bring about equality for all people regardless of race, creed, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or ethnic background. In pursuing its aim, CORE seeks to identify and expose acts of discrimination in public and private sectors of society. The national headquarters of CORE is located in New York City. James Farmer was the first National Director of CORE. Link
• Spartacus Education
  This website contains online educational resources. James Farmer’s biography is featured in the program Education on the Internet and Teaching History Online. Link

Mr. Tom Feelings, was a highly acclaimed artist and illustrator and a master chronicler of the African American experience in visual form. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Feelings spent several years in West Africa which profoundly affected his work and encouraged his diasporic vision. Among Feelings’ many books are Moja Means One, Jambo Means Hello, (children’s books) and The Middle Passage (a striking artistic study of the transatlantic slave trade). Feelings won numerous national and international honors for his work, including two Caldecott Honors and a Newberry Honor, among the highest national awards for children's literature. He passed in 2003, a year after he was interviewed for the Veterans of Hope Project.

• National Conference of Artists
  The National Conference of Artists seeks to preserve, promote and develop African American culture and the creative forces of the artists, that emanate from the African American and African World Experience. Tom Feelings was a member of this organization. His profile and list of publications is given on this page. Link
• This page contains the National Conference of Artists’ tribute to Tom Feelings. Link

Mr. James Forman was the first executive secretary (director) of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); presently chairman of the Unemployment and Poverty Action Committee. From his current base in Washington, D.C, he remains deeply involved in work for democratic social change, especially among the working poor.

• Spartacus Education
  This website contains online educational resources. James Forman’s biography is featured in the program Education on the Internet and Teaching History Online.Link

Bishop Dom Samuel Ruiz Garcia is the recently retired prelate of Chiapas, Mexico. Dom Samuel was a major force in the integration of indigenous Mayan cultural and linguistic forms into Catholic worship in southern Mexico. He has also been an important force in efforts at reconciliation between the Zapatista movement and the Mexican government.

• Call to Action (CTA)
  Call to Action is a Catholic movement working for equality and justice in the Church and society. It promotes its vision of a progressive, engaged Catholicism through annual conferences, award-winning publications, extensive network of regional groups and joint programs with other Catholic renewal organizations. Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia’s plenary address at the CTA National Conference held on November 7, 1999 in Milwaukee is featured on this page. Link
• The Organic Consumers Association (OCA)
  The OCA is a grassroots non-profit public interest organization which deals with crucial issues of food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, corporate accountability, and environmental sustainability. This page contains an interview Bishop Ruiz had with Narco News.Link

Mr. Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, poet, activist and amateur boxer, was one of the national leaders of the Chicano movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Gonzales and his wife, Geraldine Gonzales, created the Denver-based “Crusade for Justice.” During the 1960s, they worked with Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers of America and with SCLC’s Poor People’s Campaign, constantly developing linkages among various movements for social justice. The Gonzales family also founded Escuela Tlatelolco, an independent school for Chicano and Native American youth in Denver, which is currently directed by a daughter, Nita Gonzales.

• Escuela Tlatelolco Centro de Estudios (Denver, CO)
  The center seeks to liberate the mind, heart, and spirit of students, through the knowledge of their cultural expression, moral courage, and honorable behavior. Link

Ms. Lorraine Granado is a nationally recognized peace and justice organizer. Based in Denver, Colorado, Granado’s work focuses especially on issues of environmental justice and the empowerment of poor communities. She is co-founder of Colorado People’s Environmental and Economic Network and director of the Cross Community Coalition.

• Cross Community Coalition Family Resource Center in Colorado.
  This organization brings together people of diverse backgrounds and experiences in the Elyria, Globeville, and Swansea neighborhoods of Denver to work for positive social and economic change. Lorraine Granado is the executive director of this organization.Link
• The Colorado People’s Environmental and Economic Network (COPEEN)
  The Colorado People’s Environmental and Economic Network (COPEEN) was formed by residents of Northeast Denver in 1994, as a proactive, grassroots response to grave environmental injustice perpetrated against their communities. COPEEN grew out of Citizens for a Toxic-Free Community, an ad-hoc group of residents who took on the ASARCO Plant in a class–action lawsuit and won. Lorraine Granado is the lead organizer since 1987. Link