Read Prologue and Chapter One of Brambleman, the Forsyth County saga

The story: Down-and-out Atlanta writer Charlie Sherman has no idea what madness awaits him when a mysterious stranger convinces him to finish a dead man’s book about a horrific crime that’s gone unpunished for decades. What Charlie inherits is an unwieldy manuscript about the mob-driven expulsion of more than 1,000 blacks from Forsyth County, Georgia in 1912. During the course of his work, Charlie uncovers a terrible secret involving a Forsyth County land grab. Due to its proximity to Atlanta, the stolen farm is now worth $20 million—and a sale is pending. When he finds the land’s rightful owner, Charlie becomes convinced he’s been chosen by a Higher Power to wreak justice and vengeance on those who profit from evil. Winner of the IBPA’s…

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The Formation of Georgia: Beginnings of Evil, or An English Experiment Gone Awry

Above: Early layout of Savannah This is an excerpt from The Way It Was in the South: The Black Experience in Georgia, by Donald L. Grant. Available from University of Georgia Press. About the book At the age of 52, my father received his PhD in History from the University of Missouri and accepted a position at Fort Valley State College (now University), a public HBCU in Middle Georgia south of Macon. Throughout his tenure and beyond, he worked on what turned into a monumental history of Black Georgians. Unfortunately, he died in 1988 without getting it published. After his death, I reviewed his work. Recognizing its value, I editing the massive 1,500-page manuscript down to publishable length and extended the narrative’s…

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This race wasn’t supposed to happen: justice reformer Dexter Wimbish faces appointed DA Marie Broder in Griffin circuit

See early voting locations/times at end of post By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman All the leaves have fallen, but Georgia’s 2020 election season isn’t done. It’s been extended–hungover, really–well past past the Jan. 5 runoffs, thanks to two Feb. 9 special elections: a House race in reliably Blue House District 90 in DeKalb, Rockdale, and Henry counties, precipitated by the late-breaking retirement of Rep. Pam Stephenson. The other is a District Attorney’s race in the Griffin Judicial Circuit, which is today’s focus. Dexter Wimbish, a defense attorney, lay minister, municipal court judge, and former Southern Christian Leadership Council general counsel, is running against appointed Republican DA Marie Broder in the four-county circuit (Fayette, Spalding, Pike, and Upson). There is, of course, a huge…

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In a race that wasn’t supposed to happen, justice reformer Dexter Wimbish faces appointed DA Marie Broder in Griffin circuit

Above: Oh yes she did. See video Note: See early voting locations and times at bottom of post. By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman All the leaves have fallen, but Georgia’s 2020 election season isn’t done. It’s been extended–hungover, really– well past past the Jan. 5 runoffs, thanks to two Feb. 9 special elections: a House race in reliably Blue House District 90 in DeKalb, Rockdale, and Henry counties, precipitated by the late-breaking retirement of Rep. Pam Stephenson. The other is a District Attorney’s race in the Griffin Judicial Circuit, which is today’s focus. Dexter Wimbish, a defense attorney, lay minister, municipal court judge, and former Southern Christian Leadership Council general counsel, is running against appointed Republican DA Marie Broder in the four-county circuit…

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Vote for Daniel Blackman: Download and share Democratic flyers for Georgia’s Jan. 5 runoff

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman In about 70 hours, Georgia’s polls will close in the all-important runoff elections. You know who you are. You know who you want to win. If you want to help cajole others to vote, I’ve included some flyers you can share, including a pdf you can download and/or share with yrou friends via email. It’s important to let people know about Democratic Georgia Public Service Commission Candidate Daniel Blackman. Most people don’t know much, if anything, about the PSC, which regulates Georgia Power Company and other utilities in the state, and there’s a danger that people will simply pass over the contest, even though it’s Democrats’ chance to break the Republican stranglehold on statewide offices. Vote for Daniel…

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