Reese Library Special Collections: The African American Community in Augusta: Books

S.C. R695 S44 2018

Standing on our Ancestors' Shoulders: Transformation of African American Life in Rural GA-1930s to 1970s presents firsthand accounts of 25 African American storytellers' historical transformations that occurred in their homes, schools, and church communities in Columbia and Richmond Counties, Georgia between the 1930s and the 1970s. The storytellers share a bond of membership in their home church - Gospel Water Branch Baptist Church (GWBBC), founded 1880 in Evans-Columbia County. These storytellers, aged 67 to 90, were born between 1933 and 1956. The storytellers' unique perspectives and personal experiences capture emotions often absent in other written records of African American lives in the South in the above period. Their memories/stories provide insight beyond the lives of African Americans from Columbia County and Richmond County, Georgia. The shared memories also reflect the lives of other Black Americans living in the rural, segregated South heavily influenced by Jim Crow laws in the early twentieth century. The memories/stories presented in this book reflect the ancestral shoulders upon which these storytellers and other African Americans stand. This book encourages current and future generations to continue exploring the history of foreparents who, through their tireless efforts, have contributed to expanding opportunities for African Americans today. STORYTELLERS Z. Avery - B. Bennett - F. Bennett - D. Brown - M. Collins - N. Crandall - M. Evans - E. Faison - B. Flono - F. Flono - R. Garnett - H. Griffin - C. Hartfield - B. Hicks - G. Manning - E. McCord - E. O'Bryant - M. Pollard - J. Porter - W.B. Roberson - J. Roscoe - G. Tate - R. Taylor - S. Taylor - P. Thurmond