Tag: domestic travel

(Photos) Emancipation Day Celebrated in Georgia since 1866

.Reading time 1 minute.
A road sign in Thomaston, Georgia identifying Home of Emancipation Proclamation Celebration Road

⁣⁣I saw this road sign as I passed through Thomaston, Georgia a couple Sundays ago. According to a gas station attendant, the Georgia town has celebrated their Emancipation Day annually since 1866 and continue to do so, today.

On May 29,1865, enslaved persons in Thomaston, Georgia, learned of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. According to the paper, they were free. What would immediately ensue is a century and a half of social conditions that would leave many to contemplate what it means to be free in America? ⁣⁣

Thomaston, Georgia has celebrated Emancipation Day on May 29th since 1866. Georgia House Resolution 859 was passed in 1996, naming May 29th Emancipation Day in Upson County, Georgia.

Georgia House legislation naming May 29th Emancipation Day in Thomaston, Georgia

Ronda Racha Penrice wrote a story on it. Emancipation Day and Juneteenth celebrations aren’t new published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ⁣⁣


This post is dedicated to #Justiceforbreonnataylor ⁣

(Photos) Born Losers Motorcycle Club and Auchumpkee Creek Covered Bridge

.Reading time 1 minute.
Auchumpkee Creek Covered Bridge

⁣It was Sunday June 28, 2020 and I was driving down US highway 19. I decided to check out the Auchumpkee Creek Covered Bridge. ⁣I saw a group of men standing by their Harley Davidson bikes in a shaded area.⁣
⁣

Milton of Born Losers Bike Club

The website seconds Milton’s claim that Born Losers MC is the oldest, active, Black motorcycle club in the Atlanta area. Established in 1959. ⁣

Milton of Lithonia, Georgia’s Born Losers Bike Club
Auchumpkee Creek Covered Bridge.

Located 60-miles outside of Atlanta, Auchumpkee Creek Bridge makes for a nice afternoon drive and quick kickback. Plenty of green space to take photos, meditate, or enjoy a packed lunch. Watch and listen as the creek water rushes by.

Bike riders out for a leisure Sunday afternoon ride

(Photo) A city worker and a Perspective on Confederate Monument Removals

.Reading time less than 1 minute.
Decatur, GA city worker stops lunch break to pose for a photo.

Photographed in Decatur, Georgia. June 19, 2020. The afternoon after a Confederate obelisk was removed⁣ from Georgia Square.
⁣
A city worker, father, after-hours dandy stops for a photo during his lunch break.
⁣
“You can pull all the confederate monuments down…unless the hearts of people change, ain’t much else going to change.” ⁣-anonymous
⁣


Image 2: Dr. Hilary Green has published a Monuments Removal 2015-2020 Map. Link in bio

Click image above to access Monument Removals, 2015 – 2020 map. Produced by Dr. Hilary Green

(Atlanta) Street Name Changes: John Wesley Dobbs

.Reading time 1 minute.

Doing a bit of research on street name changes, here’s an example || On August 16, 1993 Atlanta City Council approved Ordinance Number 93-0-1140 resulting in “Renaming Houston Street in its entirety to John Wesley Dobbs Avenue and for other purposes”

Image 1: John Wesley Dobbs Ave and Jackson Street NE

Image 2: full record of city ordinance which notes “John Wesley Dobbs was a champion of African American business and Civil Rights in Atlanta and the Nation.”

Image 3: City Council votes on ordinance.

Image 4: Notice of a public hearing listed in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

John Wesley Dobbs (1881-1962) is Maynard Jackson’s (1938-2003) maternal grandfather. Jackson was the mayor of Atlanta when the ordinance was signed and the street renamed in his grandfather’s honor.

[source: ordinance records on file at Kenan Research Center]

(Field Notes) Geronimo Knows: Louis Armstrong Park

.Reading time less than 1 minute.

#fieldnotes and photographs from @geronimoknows

Louis ”Satchmo” Armstrong is New Orleans’ most famous son. The legendary trumpeter was born 117 years ago in a section of the city once known as The Battlefield. Thick skin and heart were a prerequisite to survive there, but the challenges of Armstrong’s youth greatly added to the vibrancy of his music

Pictured is the gate to Louis Armstrong Park which sits on N. Rampart Street. A grand sight to see during the day or night. You’ll always find residents and tourists stopping to take photos in front of the archway.

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center (part 1 of 2)

.Reading time 1 minute.

Follow us on Instagram: @VisitBlackHistory

Photo by Sophia V. Nelson/The Merging Lanes Project

Meet Mary Dennard-Turner, part of the Maryland Park Service staff at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center located in Church Creek (Dorchester County) Maryland.

An area native. For several years she has been an active member of the local heritage preservation society. She was retired when the Maryland Park Service approached her to work as a greeter at the visitor center. She said when she retired as a corrections officer she told herself she’d never wear another uniform again. Yet, there she was, complemented by that beautiful white, green and red Maryland Park Service seal; one of the first faces to greet a few groups and I when we entered the visitor center on Tuesday.

She shared she had just crossed over the 1 year mark as a seasonal employee and is enjoying herself.

More on the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center to come.