Georgia’s most famous runaway slaves became famous abolitionists

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman I remain appalled at the “content” (or rather, the lack thereof) taught in Georgia’s 8th grade classrooms about the state’s history—and especially the short shrift its deep and rich African-American history receives. Of course, the same can be said for the nation’s classrooms during Black History Month. (Why February? Comedian Chris Rock once said, “Because it’s the shortest month.”) There would be no need for such a thing as Black History Month if African Americans’ story had been told properly and effectively all along, but that didn’t—and hasn’t happened—so here we are. Well, here’s something. When I worked on my father’s book, this story—which I’d never heard before—jumped off  the page at me. I was so enthralled by…

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Success Story: Columbus GA celebrates euthanasia-free year under program Teresa Tomlinson started

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman One of the Georgia Democrats running to unseat Sen. David Perdue in 2020 is not like the others. That’s because Teresa Tomlinson has a long track record of public service as the two-term mayor of Columbus. One of her efforts yielded success during her term, but the full effect came to pass in the year after she left office, reports WRBL.com: Columbus Animal Care and Control center is celebrating an entire year without having to euthanize any animals to make space. The center says they saw a decrease in euthanasia rates after former Mayor Teresa Tomlinson’s Save A Pet Program. It took effect almost 10 years ago. The innovative program was recognized at the time. Tomlinson’s website notes…

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Take that, Scarlett O’Hara: The tale of Tunis Campbell is the true story of Georgia Reconstruction

Tunis G. Campbell, Sr. Georgia Black Reconstruction Leader By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman In 1861, a 49-year-old black abolitionist named Tunis G. Campbell, Sr., walked into a recruiter’s office in New York City and attempted to enlist in the Union Army. Like all African-Americans in the war’s early stages, he was rejected as unfit on the basis of his race. Campbell, a well-educated restaurateur, baker, and published author, didn’t give up. He wrote a letter to President Lincoln outlining a self-improvement plan for freed slaves after the war. As a result, he was sent to Union-occupied Hilton Head, S.C., to work with General Rufus Saxton. In 1865, Campbell—a tall, imposing man who dressed formally and wore spectacles—was appointed military governor of five Georgia…

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In Athens, Mokah Johnson’s people-powered campaign takes root

Supporters at Athens MLK Day Parade (photo courtesy of @MokahforGeorgia By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Mokah Jasmine Johnson is an activist’s activist—so much so that she’s hard to keep up with. Saturday, she announced her campaign for the Georgia House of Represntatives. Monday, she was overseeing the Athens MLK Day Parade. And Tuesday night, the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections member sent a ripple through the election security crowed–and a message to Georgia’s Secretary of State’s office, which has been stumbling through the rollout for the state’s new voting system. When I say people … This started out as a campaign announcement story, but it turns out to be about something and someone special. Mokah for Georgia, y’all. This is how she greeted…

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Georgia’s new Sen. Kelly Loeffler doesn’t know what she’s talking about, but that won’t stop her

Note: I’m collecting lies for a Georgia edition of Lies and the Lying Liars who Lie them. Send them to me! Especially valuable: GOP mailers, like this smear on Rep. Josh McLaurin that got the Georgia Republican party sued for libel. By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Recently, Rep. Doug Collins said Democrats were in love with terrorists and was forced to  apologize for his wrongful nonsense. Impeached for Life President Trump, never one to miss a chance to go even lower—and who never apologizes—followed that up by retweeting a picture of Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dressed in Iranian garb by an Iranian flag.That’s some serious third-grade level taunting. Trump was roundly condemned, but #MAGA cheered him on,…

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Martin Luther King Day in Georgia 1987: Hosea Williams marches on Forsyth County

Above: Some of the 25,000 who came for the second march on Jan. 24, 1987 Excerpt from The Way It Was in the South: The Black Experience in Georgia, by Donald L. Grant and Jonathan Grant. All rights reserved. The most startling event during the 1987 King holiday celebration grew out of a “march for brotherhood” at the Forsyth County seat of Cumming on January 17, when a small group of marchers led by Hosea Williams was attacked.  Forsyth, just north of Fulton County, was home to thirty-eight thousand people, all of them white.  It had a reputation as a racist enclave ever since whites had driven out virtually all the county’s eleven hundred blacks in 1912 after a lynching and orgy…

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