Atlanta History Center Highlights Civil War to Civil Rights Partnerships and Exhibition and Programming Series
ATLANTA, GA - Two of our nation’s turning points are linked in the history of Atlanta: the road to freedom that began with Abraham Lincoln, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Civil War and the path toward social justice that led to the American Civil Rights Movement. In recognition of the Civil War Sesquicentennial and the fiftieth anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the Atlanta History Center presents Civil War to Civil Rights – a series of exhibitions, programs, and partnerships designed to continue the exploration of our American history from the 1860s through the 1960s and explore how these pivotal events shaped Atlanta and our nation.
The exhibitions featured in the Civil War to Civil Rights series are Turning Point: The American Civil War (permanent display); The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Where Art and History Intersect (closes July 13, 2014); Wilbur Kurtz: History in Gone With the Wind (July 2, 2014 – April 4, 2015); and Confederate Odyssey: The George W. Wray Jr. Civil War Collection (July 18, 2014 – March 15, 2015).
Each exhibition and accompanying programs explores the philosophies, historical figures, and activism that led the United States from Civil War to Civil Rights. For more information on this series and accompanying programs, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/CW2CR.
Civil War to Civil Rights Partnership Initiatives:
The commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the Atlanta Campaign is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Atlanta’s arts, history, culture, and civic institutions to work together through various platforms to present the history of Atlanta and the Civil War throughout our city and state-wide communities.
37 Weeks: Sherman on the March
April 2014 marked the 150th anniversary of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s 1864 march into Georgia. Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Atlanta History Center commemorated this extraordinary event with the original series, 37 Weeks: Sherman on the March. The series brings Sherman’s devastating thirty-seven-week journey across Georgia to life and highlights key turning points in the history-making march. Each of the 90-second 37 Weeks segments airs multiple times on GPB’s television and radio platforms during the week, paralleling the same week in Sherman’s campaign and tells stories that bring an understanding to the human dimension of war. 37 Weeks is produced by award-winning filmmaker Bruce Burkhardt in collaboration with Atlanta History Center Civil War historian Gordon Jones. The series is hosted and narrated by Masud Olufani, who has worked with the History Center for the last four years as part of the Meet the Past museum theatre program. Most recently, he played the role of African American journalist J. Max Barber in the award-winning production of the History Center’s Four Days of Fury: Atlanta 1906. To view segments and accompanying blog posts from 37 Weeks visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/37weeks.
Launch of Atlanta Campaign Battle App® in Partnership with Civil War Trust
Released May 2014, the Atlanta Campaign Battle App® is a GPS-enabled tour application that allows users to discover historical sites associated with this pivotal 1864 campaign. Features in the free Atlanta Campaign Battle App® guide enhance users’ experiences from Rocky Face Ridge to Jonesboro, placing history at their fingertips.
The resources available through the guide allow users to move at their own leisure through three individual tours stopping at twenty-nine Virtual Signs, which provide access to audio of first-hand accounts of the action and video of battlefield experts offering their interpretation of key events. Content also includes images of relevant artifacts from the Atlanta History Center’s peerless Civil War collection. An additional thirty-six points of interest are highlighted on the map. A new, multi-layered interface allows users to view the area of operations for the whole campaign or zoom in for tactical detail. As with other titles in the Battle App®guide series, time-phased troop movements help tie historical events to the modern landscape. The Atlanta Campaign Battle App® guide, optimized for iOS and Android devices, is now available for free download at www.civilwar.org/battleapps.
The Civil War Trust continues working to develop more Battle App® guide offerings thanks in part to the support of the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Trust’s technology partner, NeoTreks, Inc. The Atlanta Campaign Battle App® guide was made possible with the sponsorship and assistance of the Frances and Beverly DuBose Foundation, the Atlanta History Center, and historian Steve Davis.
Re-launch of Atlanta History Center’s interactive Atlanta Campaign map
In partnership with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Digital Enterprise, the interactive map of 1864 Atlanta that was featured in the Atlanta History Center-curated exhibition, War in Our Backyards, will be expanded in scope and content and made available online through the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in July 2014. For updates visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/CW2CR.
Atlanta Talks: Exploring Civil War to Civil Rights
October 28, 2014
The Atlanta History Center, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, WXIA-TV, University of Georgia, Georgia Historical Society, and Lovett School hosts a panel discussion in the fall of 2014. Panelists Julian Bond, Eric Foner, Charles Reagan Wilson, and Leslie Harris engage in the exploration of how issues raised by the Civil War and by the Civil Rights Movement are connected. For updates and information visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/CW2CR.
The Civil War and the Forging of Character: The Lovett School Lecture Series
Location: The Lovett School
The Civil War and the Forging of Character is a four-year lecture series presented by The Lovett School to mark the sesquicentennial of the Civil War and the Battle of Atlanta. In July 1864, General William T. Sherman and his Union Army made plans to capture Atlanta and to destroy the industries and railroad lines that supplied the Confederacy – a turning point in the Civil War. The Chattahoochee River at Paces Ferry offered the last natural barrier to the Army before they reached the city. It is here at this strategic location where The Lovett School campus is located. For information on upcoming programs visit Lovett.org.
The Civil War and the Forging of Character is made possible by the Jack and Anne Glenn Character Education Speakers Fund, through the generosity of the Jack and Anne Glenn Charitable Foundation and brothers Jack, Alston, Bob, and Lewis Glenn, and in cooperation with the Atlanta History Center.
Preserved On Glass: Photographs of Civil War Atlanta
Location: Atlanta Preservation Center
At the outbreak of the Civil War, George N. Barnard was sent by his employer, Matthew Brady, to document military activities in northern Virginia as well as Washington, D.C. In late 1863, he joined the topographical branch of the department of engineers to conduct photographic operations for the Army of the Cumberland based in Nashville, Tennessee. Barnard was called to Atlanta following the surrender of the city in September 1864. While the army surveyed roads, rail lines, and topographical features, he photographed the Confederate and Union fortifications and Atlanta’s streets and rail yard. Barnard executed nearly 200 photographs of Civil War Atlanta. This exhibition is composed of views – some never reproduced – depicting the city’s streets and homes preserved on glass.
The exhibition is on display in the antebellum Grant Mansion, headquarters of the Atlanta Preservation Center. For information visit AtlantaPreservationCenter.com.
Georgia’s Civil War Sesquicentennial Website
Georgia's Civil War Sesquicentennial website was created by the Tourism Division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) as part of the state's efforts to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The site aims to facilitate and promote an understanding of the Civil War and Georgia's role in it as well as to promote
tourism that inspires people to visit Georgia's Civil War historic sites and attractions. In addition to online resources, Crossroads of Conflict is a comprehensive guide book that covers 350 historic sites in detail, bringing the experience of the war to life. For each site, the guide provides a detailed history, driving directions, online resources, and GPS coordinates. The war experiences of all Georgians, not just soldiers, are addressed within the guide's informative text and a detailed chronology is included. For information on statewide events and resources visit GACivilWar.org.
Atlanta Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission
The Atlanta Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission established by the City of Atlanta includes a variety of city-wide partners and cultural institutions presenting a series of programs, lectures, exhibitions, and events held throughout Atlanta to connect our communities through dialogue, exploration, and interaction. For information on city-wide events visit Atlanta.net.
Civil War to Civil Rights Series Exhibitions:
Turning Point: The American Civil War
Atlanta History Center Signature Exhibition
The Civil War was a turning point in American history. The war completed the formation of the United States, ended slavery, defined the central role of the federal government, and set the young nation on a path toward democratic freedoms for all Americans. At 9,200 square feet, Turning Point is the largest Civil War exhibition in the Southeast that tells the story of the war from beginning to end and beyond. Included are over 1,400 original Union and Confederate artifacts, plus photographs, and vignettes, as well as videos and interactive components that deal with the causes of the war, soldiers’ lives, wartime manufacturing, the home front, and the bloody, decisive campaigns of 1864. A final section encourages guests to search for the consequences and meaning of the war, which claimed 670,000 American lives, more than the combined number of Americans killed in all other wars from the American Revolution through the Vietnam conflict. The heart of the exhibition is the DuBose Civil War Collection, one of the world’s largest collections of Civil War artifacts. Displays include materials from the Thomas Swift Dickey Civil War Ordnance Collection, the Confederate States flag that flew over Atlanta at the time of the city’s surrender, a Union supply wagon used by Sherman’s army, General Patrick Cleburne’s sword, the logbooks of the CSS Shenandoah, the diary of a Union soldier who died at Andersonville prison, uniforms from both armies, and firearms, artillery, soldiers’ personal items, letters, diaries, medical equipment, civilian clothing, veterans’ memorabilia, and much more. Free Turning Point audio tours are available at the Atlanta History Museum Admissions Desk.
The DuBose Gallery is made possible by a gift from Mrs. Beverly M. DuBose Jr. The exhibition is sponsored by an anonymous donor and by Mr. and Mrs. W. Barrett Howell. Installation of Turning Point: The American Civil War was supported by Balentine & Company.
The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Where Art and History Intersect
On display through July 13, 2014
Atlanta History Center
Wells Fargo is pleased to bring The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Where Art and History Intersect to the city of Atlanta. The Kinsey Collection dispels myths and promotes dialogue about African Americans in the making of America. It explores the historic, artistic, and cultural contributions and progress of African Americans through rare and historic artifacts, documents, books, letters, manuscripts, photographs, and two- and three-dimensional artwork by African American artists. This traveling exhibition features over 130 items chronicling African American history and culture, including the Emancipation Proclamation, speeches by Frederick Douglass, letters from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as documents, artifacts, and photographs dating from 1600 to the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Jim Crow years, and the Civil Rights Movement.
The exhibition is free to members and included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For information on the exhibition, programs, or to purchase admission tickets visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Wilbur G. Kurtz: History in Gone With the Wind
On display July 2, 2014 – April 4, 2015
Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center
Atlanta illustrator Wilbur G. Kurtz served as the historian to the motion picture Gone With the Wind. Created by the Atlanta History Center, Wilbur G. Kurtz: History in Gone With the Wind reveals Kurtz’s involvement and influence on the historical accuracy and depiction of Atlanta in the film.
This exhibition is free to the public; available to view Wednesday – Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. For information visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or call 404.814.4000.
Confederate Odyssey: The George W. Wray Jr. Civil War Collection
On display July 18, 2014 – March 15, 2015
Atlanta History Center
To commemorate the Civil War Sesquicentennial, the Atlanta History Center is exhibiting the incredible collection of Confederate artifacts assembled by Atlanta collector George W. Wray Jr. On public display for the first time, this collection includes the rarest-of-the-rare: Southern–made uniforms, flags, firearms, bayonets, and small-caliber artillery pieces, many of which are one-of-a-kind items. This exhibition uses these objects to tell the story of how a pre-industrial Confederacy managed to sustain a modern industrial war for four long years.
Discover the amazing personal stories of those who carried or wore these objects into battle. Here you see the blood-spattered coat of a seventeen-year-old Georgia boy killed at the Battle of Chickamauga, the flag carried by Georgia regiment as it advanced into a hail of bullets along what is now Peachtree Street, and a sharpshooter rifle made by a New Hampshire gunsmith who worked for the Confederacy before returning to his native state in 1866. Also on display is the patent model and prototype of George W. Morse’s breech-loading gun, the direct predecessor of all modern firearms.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a richly-illustrated full-color catalog of the Atlanta History Center’s George W. Wray Jr. Civil War Collection. Written by Gordon Jones, Atlanta History Center Senior Military Historian, the catalog will be published by the University of Georgia Press in October 2014.
This exhibition is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For information or to purchase admission tickets, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or call 404.814.4000.
Slavery By Another Name: Paintings and Assemblages by Robert Claiborne Morris
Exhibition Opens October 2014
Location: Margaret Mitchell House, Atlanta History Center Midtown Campus
Robert Claiborne Morris began to re-examine his understanding of race in America after reading an early proof of Douglas A. Blackmon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name. The revelation that slavery continued until World War II changed the way he saw his native South.
Morris began an odyssey in search of the images, objects, and artifacts related to this obscure chapter in American history. From Georgia to North Carolina, he examined junkyards, flea markets, and historical societies, hunting and collecting in the hopes of finding a medium that could both incorporate found objects and project images to better understand the spiritual darkness of re-enslavement.
Incorporated in Morris’ works are portraits of the re-enslaved, maps of the slave mines, courageous articles and images published by the Atlanta Constitution, blood money, letters to the Department of Justice pleading for mercy, and implements of bondage and torture ranging from words to ropes as well as locks and chains. Morris’ hope is that the series of overlapping mediums awakens complex emotions and promotes reconciliation.
Over the course of Morris’ three previous exhibitions in three cities and after greeting and speaking to hundreds of people, he has discovered that art has a power that must be directed to the improvement and reconciliation of man’s soul. Morris believes that art has a greater strength when focused on the soul of man, asking us to search deeper into the things that comprise our own history.
Civil War to Civil Rights Programming:
Smith Family Farm at the Atlanta History Center
Daily Interactive Experiences offered Monday – Friday, 11 am – 4 pm; Sunday 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Travel back in time and visit the 1860s Smith Family Farm. Encounter living history characters from a Piedmont Georgia farm who share the challenges of the Civil War on the home front. Exploration of the Smith Family Farm includes the Tullie Smith House, a plantation-plain house built in the 1840s by the Robert Smith family. Originally located east of Atlanta, outside the city limits, the house survived the destruction in and around Atlanta during the Civil War. The house and detached kitchen were moved to the Atlanta History Center in the early 1970s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The house and separate open-hearth kitchen are now surrounded by a dairy, blacksmith shop, smokehouse, double corncrib, slave cabin, and barn, as well as traditional vegetable, herb, field, flower, and slave gardens. As you explore the farm site, you may participate in the daily tasks of past times, and will meet characters portraying the family, neighbors, enslaved workers, and friends of those who lived on the farm.
June 2014
Meet the Past: Gallery Performances Inspired by The Kinsey Collection
Weekends April – July 13, 2014
History comes to life through engaging and interactive Meet the Past museum theatre performances based on a few of the influential African American artists and writers featured in The Kinsey Collection. Written by the award-winning Atlanta History Center playwright, Addae Moon, performances include Ignatius Sancho, Phililis Wheatley, and Hale Woodruff.
This program is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information or to purchase admission tickets, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Civil War 150 Lecture: Jeff Shaara, Smoke at Dawn
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
8:00 pm
Location: Atlanta History Center
New York Times bestselling author Jeff Shaara returns to the Civil War terrain he knows so well, with the latest novel in the series that started with A Blaze of Glory and A Chain of Thunder. In The Smoke at Dawn, the last great push of the Army of the Cumberland sets the stage for a decisive confrontation at Chattanooga that could determine the outcome of the war.
Blending evocative historical detail with searing depictions of battle, Jeff Shaara immerses readers in the world of commanders and common soldiers, civilians and statesmen. From the Union side come the voices of Generals Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and George Thomas—the vaunted “Rock of Chickamauga”—as well as the young private Fritz “Dutchie” Bauer. From the Rebel ranks come Generals Bragg, Patrick Cleburne, and James Longstreet, as well as the legendary cavalry commander, Nathan Bedford Forrest. A tale of history played out on a human scale in the grand Shaara tradition, The Smoke at Dawn vividly recreates the climactic months of the war in the West, when the fate of a divided nation truly hangs in the balance.
Admission for all lectures is $5 members, $10 nonmembers, and free to AHC Insiders unless otherwise noted. Reservations are required. Call 404.814.4150 or reserve tickets online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Lectures.
Support:Civil War 150 lectures are presented through the generous support of Vicki and Howard Palefsky.
Bernard Kinsey, What You Didn’t Learn in High School History
Friday, June 6, 2014
Reception 6:00 pm, Lecture 7:30 pm
Location: Atlanta History Center
Experience a dynamic evening of enlightenment and inspiration as historian and renowned art collector Bernard Kinsey takes you on a journey of discovery through many untold stories of African American history, accomplishments, and contributions. Kinsey debunks the more than 400-year-old “myth of absence” in American history, drawing from the extensive collection of artistic and historical treasures amassed in The Kinsey Collection. He reveals long ignored stories of the roles African Americans played in the making of America.
Afterwards, Professor Cliff Kuhn from Georgia State University, a noted local expert on Atlanta history joins Bernard Kinsey for a panel discussion moderated by Condace Pressley of WSB AM/FM.
Evening program also includes a reception and pre-lecture viewing of Wells Fargo’s nationally traveling exhibition The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, Where Art and History Intersect. The Kinsey Collection exhibition is on display at the Atlanta History Center through July 13, 2014.
Book signing follows the lecture. Copies of The Kinsey collection book are available before and after the program.
Admission for all lectures is $5 members, $10 nonmembers, and free to AHC Insiders unless otherwise noted. Reservations are required. Call 404.814.4150 or reserve tickets online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Lectures.
Finding Billy Yank and Johnny Reb: Researching your Civil War Ancestor
Saturday, June 7, 2014
10:30 am – Noon
Atlanta History Center archivist Sue VerHoef offers tips, techniques, and effective strategies for researching Civil War ancestors. This workshop is for skill level intermediate.
This program is held at the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Admission is $10 members; $15 nonmembers. Space is limited; reservations are strongly suggested. To reserve, call 404.814.4150. For information about program content call 404.814.4042 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Juneteenth: The First Day of Freedom
Saturday, June 21, 2014; 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday, June 22, 2014; Noon – 5:00 pm
This weekend celebration focuses on the appreciation and commemoration of emancipation from slavery in the United States. Explore the themes of freedom and family history through a variety of genealogy workshops, gallery character performances, kid-friendly activities, and self-guided explorations of exhibitions.
This program is held during a Wells Fargo Free Admission Weekend. For more information, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Support:Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners under the guidance of Fulton County Arts Council, and Wells Fargo.
Atlanta History Center Summer Camp: 1964
June 23 – June 27, 2014
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Ages 6 – 8 and 9 - 11
History comes to life as AHC summer campers explore the past through games, historic simulations, performances, and hands-on activities throughout our exhibitions, historic houses, and gardens. The museum is our playground! This week’s camp explores the year of 1964 as the Warren Report is released in the wake of the JFK assassination. Beatlemania grips the nation, and the British Invasion begins. Vietnam and the Cold War rage on. Nelson Mandela is imprisoned. The Civil Rights Act is signed. Martin Luther King, Jr. receives the Nobel Peace Prize. And that’s just scratching the surface. What a year it was!
Camp fees are $225 for members; $275 for nonmembers. Camp hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. To register your camper, please call 404.814.4018. For more information on these or Margaret Mitchell House summer camps, visit www.AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/SummerCamp.
Elson Lecture: Daniel Vermilya, The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
Thursday, June 26, 2014
8:00 pm
Location: Atlanta History Center
In the summer of 1864, Georgia was the scene of one of the most important campaigns of the Civil War. William Tecumseh Sherman’s push southward toward Atlanta threatened the heart of the Confederacy, and Joseph E. Johnston and the Army of Tennessee were the Confederacy’s best hope to defend it. In June, Johnston managed to grind Sherman’s advance to a halt northwest of Atlanta at Kennesaw Mountain. After weeks of maneuvering, on June 27, Sherman launched a bold attack on Johnston’s lines. The Confederate victory was one of the bloodiest days of the entire campaign. And while Sherman’s assaults had a frightful cost, Union forces learned important lessons at Kennesaw Mountain that enabled the fall of Atlanta several months later.
Daniel Vermilya is a Civil War historian who works as a park ranger at Antietam National Battlefield and Gettysburg National Military Park. In 2012, he was the first recipient of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation’s Joseph L. Harsh Memorial Scholar Award. Daniel received his bachelor’s degree from Hillsdale College, where he studied both history and politics. He also holds a master’s degree in history from John Carroll University.
Admission for all lectures is $5 members, $10 nonmembers, and free to AHC Insiders unless otherwise noted. Reservations are required. Call 404.814.4150 or reserve tickets online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Lectures.
Support: The Elson Lectures are made possible with generous funding from Ambassador and Mrs. Edward Elson.
July 2014
Meet the Past: Gallery Performances Inspired by The Kinsey Collection
Weekends April – July 13, 2014
History comes to life through engaging and interactive Meet the Past museum theatre performances based on influential African American artists and writers featured in The Kinsey Collection. Written by Atlanta History Center playwright, Addae Moon, performances include Ignatius Sancho, Phillis Wheatley, and Hale Woodruff.
This program is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information or to purchase admission tickets, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or call 404.814.4000.
Atlanta History Center Summer Camp: The Battle of Atlanta
July 21 – 25, 2014
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Ages 6 – 8 and 9 - 11
History comes to life as AHC summer campers explore the past through games, historic simulations, performances, and hands-on activities throughout our exhibitions, historic houses, and gardens. The museum is our playground! The Civil War comes home. The battle is fought in our backyards. Reenactors and historians bring the homefront and the battlefront to life on our Civil War era farm and in our award-winning exhibitions in this week-long exploration of the turning point of the Civil War.
Camp fees are $225 for members; $275 for nonmembers. Camp hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. To register your camper, please call 404.814.4018. For more information on these or Margaret Mitchell House summer camps, visit www.AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/SummerCamp.
A Sweet Strangeness Thrills My Heart: The World of Sallie Independence Foster, 1861-1887, featuring Dolores Hydock and Bobby Horton
Friday, July 18, 2014
8:00 – 10:00 pm
Sallie Independence Foster lived in a world of high-top shoes, inkwells, and mail carried on horseback. But storyteller Dolores Hydock and music historian Bobby Horton have brought her into the 21st century.
Sallie Independence Foster was 12 years old and living in Florence, Alabama in 1861 when the War Between the States began. She was keeping a diary at the time, and kept on keeping a diary for 26 years. This performance, based on Sallie's diaries, papers, and letters from her brothers off at war, presents a funny, touching, and uniquely personal look at the life and times that Sallie shared with her paper "dear Companion." Hydock and Horton interweave Sallie’s story with camp songs, period favorites, and original tunes to create a poignant, powerful, humorous, and honest picture of a world of innocence turned upside-down.
This program is $15 for members, $20 for nonmembers. For more information or to purchase admission tickets, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com or call 404.814.4000.
The Battle of Peachtree Creek
Saturday, July 19, 2014
11:00 am – 4:00 pm
One hundred and fifty years ago today marked the eve of one of the most pivotal battles of the Civil War – the Battle of Peachtree Creek. Visit the farmhouse and kitchen at the 1860s Smith Family Farm to hear how Atlanta women and children dealt with shortages and other war-related hardships. Encounter soldiers encamped and hear their stories as they make preparations for the upcoming battle. The event is complimented with a keynote lecture with Robert D. Jenkins, author of The Battle of Peach Tree Creek: Hood's First Sortie, July 20, 1864.
This program is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information or to purchase admission tickets, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Civil War after Dark
Saturday, July 19, 2014
6:30 – 9:30 pm
On the eve of the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Peachtree Creek, join the Atlanta History Center for a Civil War program 150 years in the making. Guests travel back in time to the 1860s Smith Family Farm to meet soldiers, from both sides of the conflict, and residents of a small Georgia farm as they prepare for the Battle of Peachtree Creek. Inside the Atlanta History museum, experience Weird History tours of the signature exhibition Turning Point: The American Civil War, curator led tours of the new exhibition Confederate Odyssey, Civil War Improv complete with audience participation, and a concert featuring the Americana band with Southern charm, Little Country Giants. Enjoy barbecue dinner and libations available for purchase.
This program is free to members; included in the cost of general admission for nonmembers. For more information or to purchase admission tickets, please visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com.
Battle of Peachtree Creek Live Blog
Sunday, July 20, 2014
4:00 – 7:00 pm
Watch the drama of the Battle of Peachtree Creek unfold as we post real-time updates, personal accounts, images and artifacts from the Battle of Peachtree Creek. To follow the battle,
Civil Rights 50 Lecture: Clay Risen, The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
8:00 pm
Location: Atlanta History Center
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the single most important piece of legislation passed by Congress in American history. It gave the government sweeping powers to strike down segregation, to enforce fair hiring practices, and to rectify bias in law enforcement and in the courts. The journey of the Civil Rights Act was nothing less than a moral and political epic, a sweeping tale of undaunted activism, political courage, historic speeches, backroom deal-making and finally, hand-to-hand legislative combat. The larger-than-life cast of characters ranges from Senate lions like Hubert Humphrey and Strom Thurmond to NAACP lobbyist Charles Mitchell, called “the 101st senator” for his Capitol Hill clout, and industrialist J. Irwin Miller, who helped mobilize a powerful religious coalition for the bill. Looming over all was the figure of Lyndon Johnson, who deployed all his legendary skills to steer the controversial act through Congress.
Clay Risen is an editor at The New York Times op-ed section. Before that, he was an assistant editor at The New Republic and the founding managing editor of the noted quarterly Democracy: A Journal of Ideas. His recent freelance work has appeared in such journals as The Atlantic, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post. His is the author of A Nation on Fire: America in the Wake of the King Assassination and American Whiskey, Bourbon and Rye: A Guide to the Nation’s Favorite Spirit.
Admission for all lectures is $5 members, $10 nonmembers, and free to AHC Insiders unless otherwise noted. Reservations are required. Call 404.814.4150 or reserve tickets online at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/Lectures.
Support: Civil Rights 50 lectures are presented through the generous support of Vicki and Howard Palefsky.
