Dr. Valda Harris Montgomery, Ph.D. was born in December 1947, in Montgomery, Alabama. Her parents were Richard and Vera Harris. Her father was a Tuskegee Airmen, pharmacist, and owner of Dean’s drugstore and her mother was a homemaker. Her father’s position as a Tuskegee Airmen and business owner made him closely connected within the black community. Through his contacts, he was involved in the Bus Boycott and also was trusted to secretly house the Freedom Riders while they were in Montgomery. As a result, Valda Montgomery was closely in contact with the leaders and activists of the movement. Her close proximity also pushed her to become involved in the movement herself. She joined in on various marches and after desegregation, she would involve herself in various sit-ins.

In her younger years, her family was close with Martin Luther King Jr.’s, whose children she played with and helped babysit. She attended St. Jude Education Institute and, upon graduation, she entered Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. She has also earned degrees from United States Sports Academy and Auburn University. She became an associate professor in the Clinical Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program at Alabama State University in Montgomery, AL. She has written a book titled Just a Neighbor, which is an exploration of her family’s history and relationship with the Civil Rights Movement. Currently, she is still acquiring more information on her family’s history and works to preserve the historic Harris home.