Tag: civil rights movement

As the civil rights movement unfolded in Atlanta, leaders and organizers came to the table, quite literally, in a coterie of Black-owned restaurants.

Food writer and Atlanta native Stephen Satterfield takes viewers on a wide-ranging journey in the critically-acclaimed Netflix series, High on the Hog. The series, an adaptation of the book written by food historian Dr. Jessica B. Harris, digs deep into the rich history of Black American food. Whereas the show's first season explored the history of Black American food in relation to its West African roots and the impacts of slavery, season two uncovers the role that Black American cuisine has played in fueling social justice movements, transforming communities, and awakening cultural creativity.

With The Movement Made Us, David Dennis Jr. reveals the national impact that activists such as his father had, but also reminds us of the generational implications of being raised by a man who was fighting a war within his own country.

Because the documentary explores John Lewis’s life, it is also, by necessity, a contemplation of heroism and sacrifice, by people like him who came from the humblest of origins.

Over four consecutive days in February 1961, roughly 80 activists—including nine at a coffee shop on Forsyth Street—were arrested and refused bail, testing the limits of the county jail.

On a summer morning in 1967, Lorenzo “Lo” Jelks walked into the WSB-TV studios for his first day of work. That wouldn’t have been noteworthy, except that Jelks, an American descendant of enslaved Africans, would be the first black on-air reporter at what was then (and now) one of the largest television stations in the Southeast.

Stepping off of the elevator onto the second floor of the High Museum of Art’s Ann Cox Chamber Wing, nearly 150 gold-painted arms raised with the Black Power fist are suspended in the air. Connected by cables, they form a shape that looks like a mix of Newton’s Cradle and a helix of DNA.

Winifred Watts Hemphill's great-grandfather cofounded South-View Cemetery in 1886 to give black Atlantans a dignified final resting place. Today, her mission is to help ensure those buried there, including civil rights leaders, athletes, and artists, are not forgotten.

Hank Klibanoff’s students are talking about running. Specifically, why an innocent black teenager would run from white cops in Macon in 1962. Simone Senibaldi, a senior, says, “The thing about running—for me and people that I know who are black—is that whenever cops are around, you run, regardless of whether you’re innocent or guilty.”

The former first lady of New Orleans discusses Jim Crow, activism, and how Hurricane Katrina inspired her to write her memoir.