By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Atlanta Metro > Fulton County > Atlanta

This 1953 painting, “Celestial Gate” by prominent African-American artist Hale Woodruff, is part of the permanent collection at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art. 

The Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, located in the Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Academic Center at Spelman College in Atlanta, has a 4,500-square foot exhibition area that displays an impressive collection of art, ranging from painting and sculpture to prints and textiles. It is the only museum in the nation that emphasizes works by and about women of the African Diaspora in its collections, exhibitions and programs.

The museum’s permanent collection contains 20^th century paintings and sculptures by African American artists. Particularly significant are the works by Hale Woodruff, the prominent painter, printmaker and teacher who taught at Spelman College and established the art department at the Atlanta University Center in 1931. The permanent collection at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art also comprises extensive African holdings, with a strong emphasis on the art of central Africa. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Central Georgia > Bibb County > Macon

Known as the Mother of the Blues and recognized as the first great black professional blues vocalist, Ma Rainey is one of the Georgia born musical greats who has performed at the Douglass Theatre in Macon. 

Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Otis Redding, James Brown, Little Richard. They are some of the early jazz and blues greats who have performed at the Douglass Theatre in Macon. When you are in that town, stop by the newly renovated theatre to learn some fascinating African-America history.

According to the written history of the Douglass Theatre, Charles Douglass was born the son of a former slave in 1870 and grew up in a one-room house built by his father.

“Working as soon as he was large enough to earn money, he peddled light wood and vegetables in the morning, attended school in the afternoon, and chopped cotton for fifteen cents a day.

“In a time of racism and segregation, Douglass saw opportunity in serving the black population of Macon. In 1898 Charles Douglass entered into the bicycle repair and renting business and did well until the automobile craze came. In 1901, Douglass worked as the director of the Georgia Loan and Savings Company. There he met his future wife Fannie, who was an assistant cashier.

“Organizing the Florida Blossom Minstrels and Comedy Company in 1907 made him very familiar with the minstrel circuit of entertainers. He also took advantage of TOBA (Theatre Operators Booking Agency) – a network of over 40 theatres, which was the major source of employment for many black performers. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Coastal Georgia > Camden County > St. Marys

Learn about the history of Dungeness, (pictured above) the home of Thomas and Lucy Carnegie on Cumberland Island, at the Cumberland Island National Seashore Museum in St. Marys.

Cumberland Island – one of Georgia’s beautiful barrier islands and a designated national seashore – is a 45-minute ferry ride from St. Marys on the Georgia coast. Before making the trip to Cumberland, plan to visit the Cumberland Island National Seashore Museum in St. Marys to learn about the island’s history, which includes history about the Native Americans, African Americans, and white Americans who have inhabited it.

There are exhibits on the Timucua, which refers to all the Native Americans in Southeastern Georgia and Northeastern Florida who spoke the Timucua language. The story is also told of Revolutionary War hero General Nathaniel Greene and his wife Catherine, who settled on Cumberland and built a home, the first Dungeness. You will also see exhibits at the Cumberland Island National Seashore Museum about the African American slaves who worked the extensive cotton plantations on the island in the early 1800s. In the 1890s after emancipation, The Settlement was established for African American workers on the island. The First African Baptist Church was established in 1893 and then rebuilt in the 1930s. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Atlanta Metro > Coweta County > Newnan

Slave cemeteries have been located all across the South, but the Farmer Street Cemetery next to the Coweta County African-American Heritage Museum and Research Center is the largest in the United States. 

This little museum in Coweta County is dedicated to helping folks research and archive information on African Americans in the area, but a must see for anyone who visits the Coweta County African-American Heritage Museum is the Farmer Street Cemetery that lies adjacent to it.

The following is a 2001 article by Helen Bowles about the discovery of the cemetery that is posted on the museum’s website.

“Local resident Bobby Olmstead grew up on Murray Street. As a child, the plot of land nearby was revered and an unwritten rule placed it off limits for play. It had for years been known as a “slave cemetery.” The land held no markers, no one kept the property but still the story of it being a burial ground for African Americans lingered. Early in 1999, Mr. Olmstead happened by a City of Newnan crew preparing to make walking paths through the property. He told them they couldn’t do that because the site was a grave yard. He realized at that time, this bit of history had been forgotten. Mr. Olmstead went to Newnan Mayor Brady, told his tale and convinced the Mayor to cease development of the land. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Atlanta Metro > Fulton County > Atlanta

The APEX Museum on Auburn Avenue is the only museum in Atlanta dedicated to relaying the history of African Americans.

The APEX (African America Panoramic Experience) Museum on Atlanta’s historic Auburn Avenue has been educating the world about history from an African American perspective for more than 30 years. It is Atlanta’s only museum dedicated to celebrating the rich and often untold history of African Americans.

The current main exhibit at APEX, “Africa: The Untold Story,” tells about the continent as the first civilization, the richest continent in the world; and its origin of art, medicine, science, architecture and family life.

Permanent exhibits at APEX are a replica of the Yates and Milton Drug Store, one of Atlanta’s first Black-owned businesses; The Hall of Achievement, where you will find information on the progress of African Americans in Georgia in a number of different categories; and the Black Inventors exhibit. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > East Central Georgia > Richmond County > Augusta

The first black kindergarten in Augusta was started by Lucy Craft Laney at the Haines Normal and Industrial Institute in what is now the Laney–Walker North Historic District.

Augusta is a beautiful, historic town in Richmond County with a significant amount of African-American history. To begin putting it all together, an interesting area to tour is the Laney–Walker North Historic District.

The construction of the Georgia Railroad in 1833 and the building of the Augusta Canal from 1845-47 brought many laborers in need of housing to Augusta and triggered the development of this neighborhood. Until the end of the 19th century, it was a well-integrated, multi-ethnic working-class community associated with three of Augusta’s historic minority populations—Irish, Chinese, and African American.

The district is significant for its wide variety of modest residential, commercial, and institutional buildings dating from the mid-19th through the early-20th century. By that time, Jim Crow “zoning” laws, requiring blacks and whites to settle in blocks designated by race, quickly transformed the district into Augusta’s principal black neighborhood. New companies located in the area to provide service to the black population. One of these, the Penny Savings Bank, was one of the first independently owned black banks when it was started at the turn of the 20th century. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Central Georgia > Bibb County > Macon

If you are looking for a place to view some extraordinary African American art, history and culture, consider taking a trip to Macon and the Tubman African American Museum.

Named for Harriet Tubman, the “Black Moses” who led hundreds of slaves to freedom, the Tubman Museum has grown over the years to become the largest institution of its type in the state and a key educational and cultural resource for the entire southeast region.

You’ll find a number of interesting permanent exhibits. “From Africa to America” is a pictorial collage that covers everything from historical events to people who made significant contributions to the history of African Americans. The Georgia Area Artist Gallery features popular works by Georgia based artists. Inventors Gallery features many items of our daily lives that were created by African Americans, including the ironing board, the ice cream scoot and the golf tee. The Folk Art Gallery contains works for notable African American folk artists. There is also an area for changing exhibits.

On display until July 25 is “Wini McQueen: The History of the Dream Project.” In 2000, the Tubman African American Museum commissioned textile artist Wini McQueen to produce a series of works of art to be installed in the rotunda of the Museum’s new facility in downtown Macon. The installation consists of more than 130 individual works of art that tell stories of the struggles and triumphs of a people and a community. This special exhibition features a selection of works from the project that pay homage to the individuals, institutions and organizations that have made a positive contribution to the quality of life in Macon, and who were instrumental in the founding and development of the Tubman African American Museum.

Besides its exhibitions and special events, the Tubman Museum also holds classes throughout the year, such as modern and African dance.

Read more about African American History, Macon and Bibb County, or find other activities in the Central Georgia Travel Region here at Browns Guides.

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Southwest Georgia > Dougherty County > Albany

Albany was a major battleground in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and that story is told at the Albany Civil Rights Movement Museum at Old Mt. Zion Church.

Nationally noted as a key civil rights battleground of the early 1960s, Albany was one of the first cities where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the four major civil rights organizations – Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC), Student National Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Committee on Racial Equality (CORE), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) – joined forces.

The Albany Civil Rights Movement Museum at Old Mt. Zion Church, operated by the Albany Civil Rights Institute (ACRI), tells the compelling story of the Civil Rights Movement in Albany. The Albany Movement was an organization formed in 1961 to coordinate civil rights movement activities in the area. The group chose Mt. Zion Church as the site of their first mass meeting. A majestic church at the corner of Whitney Avenue and Jefferson Street, Mt. Zion Church had been built in 1906 by a congregation of former slaves, who had organized at the end of the Civil War. Mt. Zion Church continued to host the Albany Movement’s mass meetings, such as those in which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke to capacity crowds. (more…)