Archive Atlanta

This week, we’re talking about the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition. Opened for over 100 days, from September through December of that year, it would attract around 800K visitors from across the US and 13 different countries. In 1895, Atlanta had 75,000 people, of which 40% were African American, there were 125 miles of electric trolley lines and you could feel the energy about the upcoming exposition - good and bad.
Links:
"Race and the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition of 1895"
"The Atlanta Exposition"
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At the turn of the century, Georgia was one of three states that did not allow women to practice law. That changed in 1911, when Minnie Anderson Hale graduated from the Atlanta Law School and was denied admission to the bar because of her sex. A new bill was introduced but not signed until 1916, making her the first official woman lawyer in Georgia/Atlanta. 
It was not until 1943 that Rachel Pruden Herndon became the first Black woman to practice law in the city and state. She never went to law school, instead learned from her boss, A.T. Walden, by reading all the books in the office and through a correspondence course.
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This week, I’m talking about volunteer militia formed by Black men in Atlanta from the 1870s thru 1903. These men, just years out of the slavery system and most of them Radical Republicans, pushed for the militia for two reasons - military service was the epitome of masculine, model citizen Victorian manhood and also for protection. The end of Reconstruction left African Americans in the South unprotected. There were five militias in Atlanta, led by prominent businessmen and community leaders and I share some fun stories of parades, encampments and mock battles. 
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Regardless of age, I bet you have a personal memory that involves a pair of roller skates - and almost every decade, from 1870 onward, had them too. Through this research I learned that the skating trend ebbs and flows, rinks come and go, but the activity has stood the test of time. 
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Mark and his wife Melinda were inside Broad Street Antiques in Chamblee, when a certain watercolor caught their eye. It had faces, swirls, rhythms, colors, musical notes, keyboards, bits of instruments and books with poems. After trying to find information on the artist, Jewel Simon, they found almost nothing published. Mark dove head first into the archives and as her life unfolded, so did the story of this remarkable Black woman, artist, mother and Atlantan. 
If you know of any Jewel Simon pieces, you can contact Mark here!
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While women only made up 3% of prisoners, Black women made up 98% of that group. From grading the railroad ‘cuts’ in 1866, all way into running the Haven Home in 1959, women as young as 16 served their time in places like Chattahoochee Brick, Bolton Broom, the almshouse property and Camp Mattox. These are stories about childbirth, death, escape and what is left in Atlanta that connects us to these women. 
Books to read:
Slavery by Another Name
Chained in Silence
Website Mentioned: www.savechattbrick.com
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As an outsider to the preservation world, I had a lot of questions: What is historic and who decides? Does that little National Register plaque do anything? Why do historic buildings still get demolished? Is historic preservation bad for low-income communities? This week, I interviewed Charles Lawrence, Board Chair of Historic Atlanta and got the answers to all the above, and more. You do NOT want to miss it.
Support Historic Preservation in Atlanta here
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So this week, we’re covering the Indigenous and Native American history of the Atlanta area. This is by no means the full story, but hopefully something that will implore to learn more, or at the very least think deeper about the land that you are on today.
Podcasts to listen to:
https://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com/podcast
https://www.npr.org/2020/10/06/920935570/a-treaty-right-for-cherokee-representation
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I couldn’t be more excited to share with week's episode - not only do you get to learn about Atlanta’s LGBTQ history (FINALLY) but we get to do it through the lens of the Atlanta Eagle, which in itself tells us the story of Ponce de Leon’s transition from grand residential street to commercial corridor. It was an honor to record this interview with Charlie inside the Eagle, inside the spaces that have held decades of stories - stories about vibrating mattresses, Italian restaurants, punk rock, RuPaul and Red Dog raids. You don't want to miss this!
Follow Historic Atlanta for updates!
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President McKinley signed the Three Prisons Act in 1891, which authorized the building of the U.S. first three federal penitentiaries. Atlanta was chosen as the Southern site and the prison here opened it's gates in 1902. This week we're covering the early history, its reform programs, infamous inmates and successful escapes.
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