Meet Dr. Ovell Hamilton '93

Dr. Ovell Hamilton is a 1993 Morehouse College graduate with a degree in history, and is currently serving as the Africana Studies and History Department Chair. He holds the title of being the first Metaverse professor at Morehouse College, after teaching the first course in World History and History of the African Diaspora in virtual reality.

Dr. Hamilton was born in Poplar Grove, Arkansas to a lineage of Baptist deacons, he has experienced histories with both Black Baptist, Black Methodists, and Black Pentecostal Churches. The state of Arkansas has been the cradle for the legacies of African American Baptists and African American Holiness-Pentecostal groups. In March 2021, Dr. Hamilton authored his first work, Sanctified Revolution: A history of African American Holiness. His background in military leadership and historical research has greatly enhanced the educational arm of Christian fellowship and ministry. He currently serves at Greater Community COGIC, Marietta, Georgia as the lecturer and scholar for Kingdom Advantage Training Academy (KATA) under the leadership of Bishop Matthew Brown, Democratic Republic of Congo Second Jurisdiction.

In December 2017, he completed his doctoral degree at Georgia State University with a concentration in African American Church history, generally, and the Black Pentecostal Movement, specifically. His doctoral dissertation was entitled, “Pentecostalism, Populism, and the Historic Development of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC).” Before this great venture, Dr. Hamilton completed his bachelor’s degree in history from Morehouse College in 1992 and, in 1999, attained a master’s degree in history from Georgia State University. His thesis for the Masters’ degree was entitled, Splitting in the Name of Jesus: A History of Georgia’s COGIC Church.

Moreover, Dr. Hamilton became the first professor to teach world history on a Virtual Reality platform at Morehouse College, also this feat makes him the first professor around the world to utilize a pure Virtual Reality Classroom specified for history. He instructed several students in World History, US History, and African American History. He has also lectured at Mason Temple in Memphis, Tennessee on Founder’s Day about the development and legacy of the COGIC Church under the leadership of Overseer Charles Harrison Mason. He established the Bishop J. Howard Dell Papers at the Archives of the Atlanta University Center. Additionally, he assisted with the re-organization and presentation of the Atlanta Public School Archives.