Derrick P. Alridge

Derrick P. Alridge, a former middle and high school teacher from South Carolina, is the Philip J. Gibson Professor of Education and a scholar of U.S. education history. He has authored or edited five books and published in leading academic journals, establishing himself in the fields of American educational and intellectual history. Alridge is working on Teachers in the Movement: An Oral History, drawing from over 500 interviews in his nationally recognized Teachers in the Movement Oral History Project. This project reflects his deep appreciation for the oral tradition, rooted in his upbringing in the Black church.

Recently, he has expanded his scholarly pursuits into creative writing, completing a science fiction novel, A Soul Odyssey, which explores the intersections of education, history, culture, and spirituality, and a semi-autobiographical novel, A Change Seems to Be Coming: Growing Up and Coming of Age in the South, examining growth and identity of adolescence in the South during the 1970s. These new works represent a fresh direction in his scholarship, blending storytelling with historical, regional, and cultural insights. If you know educators who taught between 1950 and 1980 and might be interested in sharing their stories for the Teachers in the Movement project, don’t hesitate to contact Derrick P. Alridge at [email protected]. The project invites educators from this period to contribute their experiences.

Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University, 1997
M.Ed., Winthrop University, 1992
B.A., Winthrop College, 1987

Curriculum Vitae

• Education in the U.S. with foci in African American education and the civil rights movement