Laura Caldwell Anderson will be the guest speaker for Bevill State Community College-Hamilton's Black History program on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 12:15 p.m. in the Bear's Den.

Anderson's presentation, "Mother's Day 1961: Freedom Rides in Alabama," is part of the Alabama Humanities Foundation 2007-2008 Road Scholars' speaker program. The Alabama Humanities Foundation (AHF) is the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  The AHF brings scholars and the public together to explore human values and meaning through the study of history, literature, religion, philosophy, and other humanities disciplines.

Anderson, a native of Rome, Georgia, has lived in Alabama since 1989 when she left home to attend the University of Montevallo.  After graduation in 1993, Anderson moved to Tuscaloosa to obtain a master's degree in American Studies.

While there, she became involved in rural community school and development work with the PACERS Small Schools Cooperative. As Community Celebration and Documentation Coordinator for PACERS for four years, Anderson traveled the state's two-lane roads and learned about the labor, social and political history of Alabama. She also found a husband--a coworker who supported her when she 
decided to obtain another degree and research the civil rights movement in her hometown.

In 2002, Anderson completed a master's degree in history/public history at the University of West Georgia. Throughout that year, she also worked full-time as a volunteer on attorney Stephen Black's campaign to become Alabama State Treasurer.

Married to Opp native Will Anderson since 1998, Laura resides with Will, their dog and two cats in Birmingham's Crestwood South neighborhood.

Her current full-time position is that of assistant archivist at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute where since 2003 she has engaged in collections development and research, reference work with scholars and students, public outreach, exhibition development, and maintenance of the BCRI website.