Reflections- Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network, Vol. 7, no. 3 (Dec. 2007)

Volume VII, No. 3 December 2007
A Program of the Historic Preservation Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
THE SOUTHERN RURAL BLACK WOMEN’S INITIATIVE
Jeanne Cyriaque, African American Programs Coordinator
Historic Preservation Division
continued on page 2
The Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative for Economic
and Social Justice evolved from a need to promote a human
rights agenda that focused on the eradication of barriers
that marginalized these women. In 2000, the Ford Foundation
convened a meeting to discuss challenges unique to the rural
southern experience and to develop strategies to improve the quality
of life for women in these communities. The barriers include
discriminatory practices that alienate southern rural women on the
basis of race, class, culture, religion and gender. These barriers
mirrored the experiences of black women who reside within the
Black Belt, the geographical
region that extends through
Alabama, southwest Georgia
and the Mississippi Delta. In
2002, a bi-racial group came
together from 77 rural counties
to formulate the tri-state
collaboration that today is
known as the Southern Rural
Black Women’s Initiative
(SRBWI).
SRBWI combines
advocacy, training, grassroots
organizing, community asset
building and leadership
development into a number of
programs that are implemented
in the targeted 77 counties to
help women build economically
sound families and communities.
The southern regional office of
the Children’s Defense Fund
administers the program in
Mississippi and is that state’s
lead organization. The other
state lead organizations are
the Federation of Childcare
Centers of Alabama (FOCAL)
and the Southwest Georgia
Project for Community
Education, Inc. State program
directors are Oleta Garrett
Fitzgerald (Mississippi),
Sophia Bracy Harris (Alabama)
and Shirley Sherrod (Georgia).
Sarah Bobrow-Williams of
Augusta serves as the asset and
finance development director.
The Ford Foundation
funded a two-year planning
process that entailed conducting
listening sessions with over
1,000 women across the tristate, 77 county region. The
women’s role in the history and
culture of the region was one
of the program areas identified
from the listening sessions.
Early on, SRBWI administered
cultural inventories throughout
the region to develop a cultural
heritage tourism plan. In 2004,
the National Trust for Historic
Sixteenth Street baptist Church in Birmingham was the site for the Southern
Rural Black Women’s Initiative 2007 luncheon for the Hall of Fame project.
This historic African American church was designated a National Historic
Landmark on February 20, 2006 by the National Park Service.
Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
2
Jeanne Cyriaque, continued from page 1
THE SOUTHERN RURAL BLACK WOMEN’S INITIATIVE
Preservation awarded SRBWI a grant to sponsor a Share Your
Heritage workshop that was held at the Ritz Cultural Institute in
Albany, Georgia. Participants and presenters from the 77 counties
in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi provided input that SRBWI is
using to develop a cultural heritage corridor and related programs
for the region. SRBWI partnered with three advisors to assist them
in each state: Jeanne Cyriaque, African American programs
coordinator for Georgia’s Historic Preservation Division, Georgette
Norman, director of Troy University’s Rosa Parks Museum in
Montgomery, Alabama and Alex Thomas, Heritage Trails director
for the Mississippi Development Authority’s Division of Tourism.
One of the major outcomes of the Share Your Heritage
workshop was the Southern Rural Black Women’s Hall of Fame
(HOF) project. The goal of this initiative is to recognize the
extraordinary accomplishments of ordinary women “…whose
everyday choices have affected the course of history – women
who may have championed the rights and futures of children,
women involved in the Civil Rights Movement, women whose
actions have helped to develop and motivate others.” SRBWI
implemented a nomination process in each state to recognize these
women at an awards ceremony and to present an exhibit that may
be housed at museums and historic sites throughout the region.
Nomination categories are achievement in faith, sacrifice, action,
cooperation and reflection.
The HOF project promotes a sense of pride among
southern rural black women, their families and communities by
documenting and preserving both inductee’s personal history and
local history. Induction ceremonies are planned in each state as
well as a bi-annual regional ceremony for all honorees to celebrate
their collective accomplishments.
Each state is exploring museum sites for a Southern Rural
Black Women’s HOF that will host the traveling exhibit, artifacts
and multimedia components that explore local history. The museums
will serve as Welcome/Resource Centers to disseminate interpretive
materials, marketing and retail products made by women in the
SRBWI network. The HOF will also serve as meeting venues for
SRBWI community education and outreach activities. SRBWI in
Georgia is currently researching historic sites, planning interpretive
centers and exhibits, and developing plays from oral histories
focused on history and culture in Georgia counties. Thirty-nine
counties in Georgia are in the SRBWI service area.
In December 2005, the first inductees were honored at the
Rosa Parks Museum in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the
Montgomery Bus Boycott. The awards ceremony included art exhibits
designed by students from
schools in the targeted counties.
Additional sponsors
for the permanent exhibition
included the Ford Foundation,
the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,
the Marguerite Casey
Foundation, the Charles M. and
Mary D. Grant Foundation, the
Sister Fund, the Ms.
Foundation for Women, the
Samuel Rubin Foundation and
the National Trust for Historic
Preservation. SRBWI
developed Just Stand
Anyhow! curated by Anthony
B. Knight, Jr. and designed by
Zoila Torres of Soli Design
with their support.
In October 2007,
curator Knight unveiled the
2005 Alabama HOF exhibit at a
reception sponsored by the
Birmingham Civil Rights
Institute. The regional awards
ceremony was held the
following day at the Sixteenth
Unita Blackwell of the Mississippi Delta, one of the African
American women in the SRBWI Black Women’s Hall of Fame,
is congratulated after the ceremony by Jeanne Cyriaque,
Georgia cultural heritage corridor advisor.
Photo by Hermina Glass-Avery
The president & CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Lawrence J. Pijeaux, Jr. and Carolyn M. McKinstry of the
Sixteenth Street Foundation hosted the opening reception and
the bi-annual ceremony of the SRBWI Hall of Fame.
Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
Each inductee in the SRBWI Hall of
Fame is featured on stand-alone
panels in the traveling exhibit.
Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
3
continued on page 4
Hermina Glass-Avery, African American Programs Assistant
Historic Preservation Division
SOUTHERN RURAL BLACK WOMEN’S
GEORGIA HALL OF FAME
Street Baptist Church. Serving as keynote speaker for the weekend’s
activities was Nikki Giovanni, poet, writer and community activist.
She is currently a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia
Tech in Blacksburg. Ms. Giovanni and the HOF inductees have
worked diligently for equality and civil rights for all people.
Throughout the weekend activities, Nikki Giovanni shared personal
wisdom and excerpts from poetry that she has published since 1968.
The Southern Rural Black Women’s Hall of Fame is a program of
the Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative, an organization
that seeks to promote human rights and to eradicate historical race,
class, cultural, religious and gender barriers experienced by southern
women. The first exhibit series Just Stand, Anyhow! honors
outstanding women from southwest Georgia who have exemplified
great courage while enduring tremendous adversity. They represent
Baker, Coffee, Dougherty, Mitchell, Wheeler, and Worth counties.
2005 GEORGIA SOUTHERN RURAL BLACK WOMEN
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Gladys Mae Spencer Coley: Coffee County. An activist for equality
in education during the civil rights era, Mrs. Coley spoke out
vehemently against the Coffee County Board of Education’s unfair
hiring practices and was the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against the
City of Douglas in the late 1970s.
Mary Young Cummings: Dougherty County. One of sixteen children,
Mrs. Cummings attended Howard University where she earned a
Doctor of Jurisprudence. She was arrested several times for her
involvement during the Civil Rights Movement in speaking out
against social injustices. In 1983 she was elected to the Georgia
House of Representatives. She also served one term as president
of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO).
Josie Miller: Baker County. She is known for her valiant efforts in
saving the lives of two civil rights activists in Dougherty County
and for her personal activism in voter’s registration. Mrs. Miller
was the first African American to be elected to the Baker County
Board of Education.
Bernice Johnson Reagon: Dougherty County. Bernice Johnson
Reagon was born and raised in Albany, Georgia and currently lives
in Washington, D.C. While living in Albany, she was involved in
the Civil Rights Movement where she attended Albany State College
Nikki Giovanni and Hermina Glass-Avery
Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
The Princely Players incorporate music and drama in
their performances about the Civil Rights Movement.
Photo courtesy of the Princely Players
Anthony B. Knight, Jr. discusses the Hall of Fame exhibit:
Just Stand, Anyhow! Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
The Princely Players provided music that focused on
Birmingham Sunday during the induction ceremony. The group
fosters education of the African American experience through drama,
song and dance. They have been featured on National Public Radio
and the eight-member ensemble has performed spirituals, work
songs, hymns and freedom songs at the Smithsonian Institution.
The Georgia 2007 induction ceremony and the 2005
Georgia inductees traveling exhibit is scheduled to be unveiled in
January 2008. After the ceremony, SRBWI will be seeking museum
and other historical locales for public viewing of the exhibit. If you
are interested in hosting the exhibit, contact Shirley Sherrod at 229/
432-5799 or Sarah Bobrow-Williams at 706/729-9710.
4
SOUTHERN RURAL BLACK WOMEN’S GEORGIA HALL OF FAME
Hermina Glass-Avery, continued from page 3
and was arrested at a SNCC demonstration. After a night spent in
jail singing songs, Ms. Reagon joined the SNCC Freedom Singers
and began to use music as a tool for civic action. She earned a B.A.
in history from Spelman College. In 1973, Ms. Reagon founded
Sweet Honey in the Rock, an award-winning quintet. Reagon
received a doctorate in U.S. history from Howard University.
Mary Shipp: Worth County. A former educator, businesswoman
and political activist, Mrs. Shipp was active in launching a voters’
rights campaign in 1977 when her late husband was elected as the
first African American to hold a public office. She ran unsuccessfully
for Mayor of the City of Sylvester. She was appointed to the Georgia
Board of Corrections in 1992. Her proudest achievement is seeing
a senior citizens’ center named in her honor.
2007 GEORGIA SOUTHERN RURAL BLACK WOMEN
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
Mary Jo Haywood: Mitchell County. Her legacy of activism led to
the election of African Americans on all county boards. Her action
against the City of Camilla opened the door for many blacks to head
city departments. Also, she led the effort for the first regulated
countywide Day Care facility, a center that is still operational and
benefits the African American community.
Dr. Lillian Patricia Johnson (Deceased): Dougherty County. Dr.
Johnson was the first African American woman to serve as the
director of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services.
The Georgia Department of Human Resources building in Albany
bears her name.
Carol R. King (Deceased): Dougherty County. Mrs. King was the
founder and director of one of the nation’s first and oldest Head
Start programs. She dedicated her life to educating children while
pursuing better family life through jobs and education for their
parents. She was responsible for employing and facilitating the
education of hundreds of adults.
Leila Walker (Deceased):
Worth County. Her role as
political activist encouraged
many blacks to exercise their
right to vote and had a lasting
impact on the community.
Leola D. Williams: Baker
County. A mother of ten
children, she gave up welfare
and worked on the farm so she
could have independence to
go to jail, integrate schools,
attend governmental meetings
and travel by bus to the March
on Washington to protest
segregation and poverty.
The principles of
historic preservation are vitally
important to SRBWI’s Hall of
Fame program. The quality exhibit requires historic research of the
highest integrity and it involves the search for historically significant
sites, (i.e. churches and schools) as permanent exhibit space. Such
sites will incorporate the context in which Hall of Fame inductees
are being honored. Many of these sites are beyond the 50-year age
requirement; however, many of the schools built during the Civil
Rights era are just beginning to reach the minimum preservation
criteria. And most of them are already being adaptively reused
as economic revitalization projects supporting entrepreneurs,
historic house museums, and community centers.
One such site that now serves as a Civil Rights museum is
Mount Zion Baptist Church. Built in 1906, Old Mt. Zion Baptist
Church served as the central gathering place for activists in Albany,
Georgia during the Civil Rights Movement, and in 1961, it was this
church that hosted the first mass meeting of the Albany Movement.
Located in the historic Freedom District, the church is now the
Mount Zion Albany Civil Rights Movement Museum and its mission
is to commemorate the Civil Rights Movement and to serve as a
local and national educational resource. During the movement, Old
Mt. Zion’s doors were opened to many an activist to protest against
racial inequalities, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC), the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE), and the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Due to their historical significance, Civil Rights era buildings, structures
and sites must be considered for National Register designation.
Many of the women who struggled in the Civil Rights
Movement were unsung heroines and never were given recognition
for their untiring, selfless efforts. SRBWI’s HOF is serving as a
catalyst to change that perspective. The women inducted into the
HOF have created a lasting legacy for future generations and they
continue, although some do so posthumously, to Just Stand,
Anyhow! helping to educate, enrich, enlighten, and thereby
empowering the lives of all women. For more information about the
Southern Rural Black Women’s Hall of Fame, please visit their
website at www.srbwi.com.
Peggy King Jorde admires the photo
exhibit of her mother, Carol R. King.
Photo by Jeanne Cyriaque
Mt. Zion Baptist Church was listed in the National Register of
Historic Places on August 10, 1995. It is presently home to the
Mount Zion Albany Civil Rights Movement Museum. Photo
courtesy of the Georgia Department of Economic Development
5
CULTURAL MEMORY, PRESERVATION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE:
THE OLD STONE CHURCH
Hermina Glass-Avery, African American Programs Assistant
R Historic Preservation Division estorative justice is working beyond the legal system to bridge
fractured communities through circles of dialogue and
understanding, a voluntary community reconciliation process on
the human rights continuum. The founding principles of restorative
justice are respect, reflection, and resolution. Restorative justice
aims to bring together all parties involved in conflict and to right
the wrongs for the sake of repairing communities.
Due to the history of African Americans in this country,
preservation in these communities can often times be difficult and
may involve much more than just saving the old building. It involves
preservation of cultural memories shared by groups that may evoke
some very painful moments of the past that were caused by racial
violence and intimidation.
This photo depicts the Antioch Baptist Church congregation on the front
steps of the church in 1951. Some of the stained glass windows were
broken by vandalism and golf balls from the Candler Park Golf Course
that is on the opposite side of the street. Photo courtesy of Sophie Carey
Racial intimidation and violence has a way of transforming
the relationships between people and space over time. Affected
individuals or communities may react to such deeds in a number of
ways: maintain positions; alter positions (relocation or migration),
or counter positions (retaliation). With relocation, many
communities leave behind cultural resources like churches,
cemeteries, schools, homes, and other buildings that convey no
apparent relationship or meaning to present-day communities.
Whether lost, buried, or existing in an individual’s personal
memories, documentation is one of the key factors in understanding
historic buildings- for they indeed have a story to tell.
The Old Stone Church certainly has a story. It has a
complex history that involves the struggle to build a community
together and to maintain it during unpleasant moments in history.
A vernacular granite building located at 470 Candler Park Drive in
the Candler Park Historic District, Old Stone Church was hand built
by skilled male members of the historically African American
congregation beginning in 1918. Oral history has it that the builders
quarried the granite from Stone Mountain. Members pooled their
resources to purchase the stone, mortar, plaster, timber, stained
glass, pews, pressed tin ceiling tiles, pine wood, cement, wainscoting
- the makings of a spiritual haven, the makings of a church - Antioch
Baptist Church. A 1918 property deed and 1924 plat map document
the building’s name simply as “Antioch Baptist Church” but,
recalling their baptism, some of the African American descendant
congregation call it “Old Antioch” or “Antioch East Baptist Church.”
Its current stewards have named it the “First Existentialist
Congregation of Atlanta.” But to all of the stakeholders who are
working collaboratively to uncover and share its history, it is
affectionately call the “Old Stone Church.”
Members of the congregation lived in what is today the
Candler Park Historic District decades before this designation.
Candler Park was originally part of the town of Edgewood and
African Americans were present in the area from the time of its
development in the mid-1870s. Small bands of families built homes
on Hooper Avenue in what was called “Hooperville”, on Mayson
Avenue and Oakdale Road. In the 1880s-90s, Edgewood was a
bustling town with streetcars, booming real estate and commerce
centered around DeKalb Avenue, the commercial heart of the area.
By 1900, the population quadrupled from a mere 300 in 1890 to 1,200
with blacks (58%) and whites (42%) co-existing in a segregated
society. Three different streetcar lines ran through Edgewood.
Schools and beautiful, new elegant homes of varying architectural
types and styles were built for whites, while blacks were relegated
to run-down, substandard housing. But they still understood
themselves to be a “community.”
Mother Mattie Howard, age 84, attended Antioch Baptist
Church as a child. “We lived in that community till I was about
seven. And they had all the black folks come out of that
neighborhood and we moved to Edgewood. I guess you heard
about Edgewood. They pushed all the blacks below there. And a
continued on page 6
The Old Stone Church on 470 Candler Park Drive, is
presently home to the First Existentialist Congregation
of Atlanta. Photo courtesy of Edith Kelman
6
Hermina Glass-Avery, continued from page 5
CULTURAL MEMORY, PRESERVATION AND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE:
THE OLD STONE CHURCH
group of them stayed on
Hooper Street. I joined the
church when I was ten. I was
baptized, so I went to Sunday
school.”
African Americans
built the original Antioch
Baptist Church (1874) on
Oakdale Road (formerly Bell St,
and later Whitefoord Avenue),
but it mysteriously burned to
the ground in 1916. They
temporarily worshiped at the
lodge until the groundbreaking
in 1918 for their new edifice on
Candler Park Drive (formerly
Mayson Avenue). When the
building was completed in 1922
the congregation moved into
its new place of worship. By
1924, census data indicates
that blacks were employed as
house servants, midwives, carpenters, rock grinders,
washerwomen, carriage drivers, porters, blacksmiths and various
other blue-collar occupations.
In 1922, the neighborhood became “Candler Park” when
Asa G. Candler, famed Coca-Cola magnate/real estate businessman,
sold 60 acres directly opposite the stone church to the City of
Atlanta for use as an exclusive park and golf club. The real estate
transaction translated into razing homes rented and owned by
blacks, thereby forcing them out of the district to an area south of
DeKalb Avenue, still known today as Edgewood. By the 1930s and
Mattie Howard stands on the steps in
front of Antioch Baptist Church on
Mayson Avenue, now Candler Park
Drive, in the late 1940s.
Photo courtesy of Mattie Howard
The First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta/Old Stone Church is a
contributing resource in the Candler Park Historic District that was listed
in the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Source: National Register files, Historic Preservation Division
40s, more homes were demolished and street names affiliated with
the black neighborhood were changed. Racial intimidation was
severe by the 1950s, so the congregation left the Candler Park
building and relocated to the Edgewood neighborhood, a thriving
working class area.
Until 2006, the original living members and their
descendants had not been in Old Stone Church for over 50 years.
Stairs were added on the first floor, and, in the sanctuary, the stained
glass windows had been replaced with palladium windows. The
pulpit that contained the choir loft and baptismal pool had been
converted into a performance stage.
Mrs. Howard attended
the initial meeting at Old Stone
Church/First Existentialist in
November 2006. The occasion
marked the first time she had
been in the church since the
congregation relocated to
Edgewood. “I was so hurt
when they told me that the
stained-glass windows were
gone. I was young, but they …
had to sell a whole lot of
peanuts and they fried fish on
Saturday to raise money to get
those windows. They would
ring the bell to let you know
that it’s time for Sunday school.
There was a dirt basement
down there. And you didn’t have a bathroom, either. You had an
outhouse. One for the men. One for the ladies.”
In September 1906, four miles west of Candler ParkEdgewood neighborhoods in downtown Atlanta, a four-day race
riot occurred. The idea of preserving the Old Stone Church was
partially inspired by Edith Kelman’s involvement in the Centennial
Remembrance of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot as well as her interest
in uncovering the history of the First Existentialist Congregation’s
building where she is an active member. As she dug deeper into the
original historical research, it became increasingly clear that this
process of understanding the building needed to involve the key
stakeholder - the descendant congregation of First Antioch Baptist
Church, the current stewards of the building, Candler Park and
Edgewood neighborhood organizations, researchers, educators and
other interested participants. So, in early 2006 the Old Stone Church
Bi-racial History Project was organized.
In November of 2006, the Old Stone Church Bi-racial
Committee sponsored a series of dialogues and invited Antioch’s
descendant congregation and its current pastor, Dr. John F. Williams,
and others to share their memories, stories, and comments at the
Old Stone Church/First Existentialist. Participants included the
Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, Reverend Marsha
Mitchiner, First Existentialist’s current minister and its founding
minister emeritus, Reverend R. Lanier Clance, WRFG Radio, members
The original 1922 bell from the Old
Stone Church currently sits in front of
Antioch East Baptist Church in
Edgewood as a reminder of their
history. Photo courtesy of Edith Kelman
Hermina Glass-Avery
African American
Programs Assistant
Voice 404/657-1054
Fax 404/657-1040
hermina.glassavery@dnr.state.ga.us
Lillian Davis
Dr. Gerald C. Golden
Terry & Cynthia Hayes
Richard Laub
Christine Miller-Betts
Kris Roberts
Isaac Johnson, Chair
706/738-1901
Linda Cooks, Vice-Chair
404/936-2614
Velmon Allen, Vice-Chair
GAAHPN Network
912/261-1898
STEERING
COMMITTEE
Jeanne Cyriaque
African American
Programs Coordinator
Reflections Editor
Voice 404/656-4768
Fax 404/657-1040
jeanne.cyriaque@dnr.state.ga.us
STAFF
7
SAVE THE DATE:
THE ATLANTIC WORLD AND
AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE AND CULTURE
IN THE GEORGIA LOW COUNTRY
The role of African Americans in the evolution of Georgia’s barrier
islands and coastal areas is the subject of an upcoming
symposium in Savannah from February 27-29, 2008. The symposium
will provide a forum to present new scholarship on this topic.
Sponsors for the symposium include the Ossabaw Island
Foundation, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Georgia
Southern University, Savannah State University and the Georgia
Historical Society.
Symposium speakers will present a variety of topics on
Low Country African American life. They include Emory Campbell,
Erskine Clark, Allison Dorsey, Michael Gomez, Jacqueline Jones,
Timothy B. Powell, Theresa A. Singleton and Betty Wood. One of
the keynote speakers is Phillip D. Morgan of Johns Hopkins
University, who is a recipient of the Bancroft Prize for his work on
the South Carolina Low Country.
of the Coalition to Remember the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot, Candler
Park Neighborhood Organization, and the Atlanta Public Schools.
From this collaboration a documentary titled Undying Faith was
created. Earlier this year a stone monument dedicated to the original
congregation of the church building was installed on the premises.
Coinciding with the 133rd anniversary since the founding of Antioch
Baptist Church, an exhibit of the history of the Old Stone Church is
on display at Antioch East Baptist Church in Edgewood.
Recently, a conditions assessment of the building was
conducted. The board of directors is considering the recommendations
for rehabilitation. For more information about the Old Stone
Church Bi-racial History Project, please contact Edith Kelman at
(404) 222-0801 or mail inquiries to: Old Stone Church History
Project, P.O. Box 5567 Atlanta, GA 31107.
The symposium will provide a teacher workshop on
Wednesday, February 27th from 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Pre-conference
tours on Wednesday are the African American History Tour ($35.00)
or the Ossabaw Island Tour ($60.00). The workshop and tours are
also available on Friday, February 29th following the morning
symposium educational sessions. Other special events include the
welcome reception on Wednesday, February 27th at 6:30 p.m.
featuring hors d’oeuvres and entertainment by the McIntosh
County Shouters. The welcome reception cost is $35.00. A topical
lunch will be provided on Thursday, February 28th where participants
can interact with speakers for a fee of $25.00. After the symposium
sessions, a low country boil will be held at the Owens Thomas
House for $40.00. The symposium is free, but a $3.00 reservation
fee is required. Donations to the Ossabaw Island Foundation are
appreciated. Register online at www.ossabawisland.net.
The host hotel for the symposium is the DeSoto Hilton at
15 East Liberty Street in the heart of Savannah’s National Historic
Landmark District. Room rates are $139. Hotel reservations can be
made online at www.desotohilton.com or call 912/232-9000. For air
travelers, the DeSoto Hilton is 20 minutes away from the Savannah/
Hilton Head International Airport.
The Ossabaw Island tour will provide an opportunity for participants to
view the North End tabby slave cabins. Photo by David Crass
Isaac Johnson
Chairman
The Georgia African American Historic Preservation Network (GAAHPN)
was established in January 1989. It is composed of representatives from
neighborhood organizations and preservation groups. GAAHPN was formed
in response to a growing interest in preserving the cultural and ethnic diversity of
Georgia’s African American heritage. This interest has translated into a number of
efforts which emphasize greater recognition of African American culture and
contributions to Georgia’s history. The GAAHPN Steering Committee meets regularly
to plan and implement ways to develop programs that will foster heritage education,
neighborhood revitalization, and support community and economic development.
The Network is an informal group of over 2,575 people who have an interest in
preservation. Members are briefed on the status of current and planned projects and are
encouraged to offer ideas, comments and suggestions. The meetings provide an
opportunity to share and learn from the preservation experience of others and to receive
technical information through workshops. Members receive a newsletter, Reflections,
produced by the Network. Visit the Historic Preservation Division website at
www.gashpo.org. Preservation information and previous issues of Reflections are
available online. Membership in the Network is free and open to all.
ABOUT GAAHPN
This publication has been financed in part with federal
funds from the National Park Service, Department of the
Interior, through the Historic Preservation Division,
Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The contents
and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or
policies of the Department of the Interior, nor does the
mention of trade names, commercial products or
consultants constitute endorsement or recommendation
by the Department of the Interior or the Georgia
Department of Natural Resources. The Department
of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis
of race, color, national origin, or disability in its
federally assisted programs. If you believe you have
been discriminated against in any program, activity, or
facility, or if you desire more information, write to: Office
for Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 1849 C
Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240.
Published quarterly by the
Historic Preservation Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
W. Ray Luce, Division Director &
Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer
Jeanne Cyriaque, Editor
A Program of the
Historic Preservation Division
Georgia Department of Natural Resources
34 Peachtree Street, NW
Suite 1600
Atlanta, GA 30303-2316