Oral History Teacher Fellowship Program
In an effort to galvanize interest and understanding of the historic Baton Rouge bus boycott, the Organizing Committee of the 1953 Baton Rouge Bus Boycott 50th Anniversary conference founded and sponsored the Rev. T.J. Jemison and Rev. James L. Stovall Oral History Teacher Fellowship Program for exemplary teachers in East Baton Rouge Parish public and nonpublic schools. Ten Fellowships have been awarded to educators from local middle and high public and non-public schools (Grades 7-12) to develop innovative oral history programming in their schools.
Fellowship honorees include:
Fred O. Aldrich, Baton Rouge Magnet High
Renee Marie Chatelain, Episcopal High School
Gidget M. Coates, Glasgow Middle School
Emmitt Glynn, Scotlandville Magnet High School
Kristin Lynn Kaufman, McKinley Middle Magnet
Kimberly McGlonn-Nelson, Glasgow Middle School
Dione T. Moultrie, Scotlandville Middle School
Kathy Thomas-Johnson, Istrouma High School
Carrie Thompson Russ, Baton Rouge Magnet High
David M. Zielinski, Episcopal High School
Selected Jemison-Stovall Fellows will attend the 50th anniversary conference and receive special training in oral history techniques. Fellows will receive a $1,000 honorarium, a video camera valued at $400, a materials stipend, and on-going technical assistance to implement their project. Following the conference, Fellows will plan and lead projects at their schools in which students will conduct videotaped oral history interviews with community members who were active participants in, or witnesses to, the 1953 civil rights episode. Fellows will then integrate these interviews into innovative learning projects in the English language arts, history, social studies, and the performing and visual arts.
Teacher recruitment and selection has been coordinated by Dr. Lance Hill, Executive Director of the Southern Institute for Research and Education at Tulane University. Dr. Hill will be joined by Ms. Jan Melton, Executive Director of the Baton Rouge Academic Distinction Fund, in administering and, managing implementation of the Fellowship program.
The Jemison-Stovall Fellowship program seeks to sponsor innovative school and public programming that will both enhance the teaching of Louisiana history and inspire a deeper understanding of the moral and ethical lessons embodied in the struggle against racial segregation and discrimination. Special emphasis is placed on the important values of tolerance, nonviolence, and mutual-help.
The Fellowship program honors two prominent leaders in the civil rights and social justice movements: Rev. T. J. Jemison and Rev. James L. Stovall. In 1953, Rev. Jemison led the Baton Rouge bus boycott and later became the president of the National Baptist Convention. The late Rev. James L. Stovall of Baton Rouge dedicated his life to promoting tolerance and compassion in Louisiana and beyond. Both men have for decades been central figures and principal voices in the civil rights and social justice movement in Louisiana.