Charlayne Hunter-Gault gives the annual Holmes-Hunter Lecture in the University of Georgia Chapel on Feb. 15. She urges listeners to “pick up the baton” and continue her legacy of civil rights and equality. Photo by Hannah Gale
Senior Copy Editor Jordan Rhym reflects on the 2018 Holmes-Hunter Lecture presented by University of Georgia 1963 graduate Charlayne Hunter-Gault.
On Feb. 15, wrapped in a red shawl, journalist and 1963 graduate of the University of Georgia Charlayne Hunter-Gault approached a crowd of Clarke County School District students standing in front of the UGA Chapel waiting for her to deliver the 2018 Holmes-Hunter Lecture.
As she made her way up the chapel’s steps, she approached the students with a kind smile and a quick laugh before entering the chapel, the building neighboring the Hunter-Holmes Academic Building which stands in commemoration to her and her classmate, the late Dr. Hamilton Holmes, who joined Hunter-Gault in becoming one of the first two African-Americans to enroll at the University of Georgia in 1961.
Previous to seeing her kind face and being able to recognize her pure love for the university, I, along with my classmates, had the opportunity to interact with documents detailing Hunter-Gault’s challenges and experiences she dealt with as a student at UGA and as a journalist.
The woman had been discriminated against, heckled, criticized and experienced every form of hatred that came with being a strong-willed Black woman in the ‘60s, a time of change and chase for Civil Rights.
Reading these documents, I had not expected to see a woman filled with that much light and humor — but how could a woman with so much strength, inquiry and will not smile at the wide diversity of students she created a path for at UGA?
As she made her way into the chapel and took to the podium, the over-crowded audience waited with anticipation and intrigue. From elementary students to Hunter-Gault’s fellow classmates that fought alongside her, the audience represented the change and progressive community she spent years fighting to create through her time at UGA and journalistic work with publications like CNN, PBS and NPR.
Her message represented an urge to find and live in the idea of “wokeness” to combat the hostile political climate America has found itself in. Referencing “The Mountain Top,” a play by Katori Hall, the crowd of community members and students joined Hunter-Gault in chanting “Pick up the baton!”
