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The civil rights era is\none of the most important historical layers in this city's rich history. Standing\non the shoulders of previous generations, Black men, women, and children forged\na visible movement that made Americus between 1962 and 1966 synonymous with\nAlbany, Montgomery, and Selma.
\n
\nThis multimedia tour recreates part of one route that demonstrators took\nthrough Americus. Some marches targeted the police station; others focused on\nthe courthouse or specific businesses. This tour does not attempt a comprehensive\nhistory of the movement or retell an \"official\" narrative of events.\nInstead, this tour seeks to peer over the shoulders of the marchers at\ndifferent moments, to listen to the protest songs, and to follow in the\nfootsteps of those who marched in a people's struggle to make good on this\ncountry's promise of liberty\nand justice for all.
\n
\nPlease be aware of traffic and pedestrian laws and watch your step on uneven\npavement. Please do not cross streets except at intersections and marked\ncrosswalks. As this tour incorporates sound and video, if you choose to use headphones, do so with mindfulness of\nthe traffic.

This tour is brought to you by the Sumter Historic Trust with grant support from Georgia Humanities.

","flat_pages",[],"id",22,"is_geo",true,"link_address","link_text","map_icon","map_overlay","map_type","roadmap","media",[800],"meta_description","Americus has important civil rights history. Designed for walking, this tour retraces part of a demonstration march and uses surviving and non-extant buildings to tell this layer in this city's past.","mode",{"_35":403,"_74":793},"modes",[788,789,790,791],"open_geographies_endpoint","published","published_on","2026-09-10","read_duration","18 minutes reading","restrict_bounds","restrict_bounds_to_overlay","sanitized_description","The civil rights era is\none of the most important historical layers in this city's rich history. Standing\non the shoulders of previous generations, Black men, women, and children forged\na visible movement that made Americus between 1962 and 1966 synonymous with\nAlbany, Montgomery, and Selma.\n\nThis multimedia tour recreates part of one route that demonstrators took\nthrough Americus. Some marches targeted the police station; others focused on\nthe courthouse or specific businesses. This tour does not attempt a comprehensive\nhistory of the movement or retell an \"official\" narrative of events.\nInstead, this tour seeks to peer over the shoulders of the marchers at\ndifferent moments, to listen to the protest songs, and to follow in the\nfootsteps of those who marched in a people's struggle to make good on this\ncountry's promise of liberty\nand justice for all.\n\nPlease be aware of traffic and pedestrian laws and watch your step on uneven\npavement. Please do not cross streets except at intersections and marked\ncrosswalks. As this tour incorporates sound and video, if you choose to use headphones, do so with mindfulness of\nthe traffic. 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Stop 12. Remembering the Movement

This history matters to\nall of us.

The Americus Movement of\nthe 1960s is one local piece of a centuries-long freedom struggle in the United States and its\ncolonial predecessors. While the civil rights\nera is often bounded by the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954\nand the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the political\nquestions at the heart of the movement extended far beyond a fourteen-year\nperiod.

The civil rights movement in Americus produced incremental—not revolutionary—change. Meaningful integration of Americus High School and Georgia Southwestern State University did not take place until the end of the decade. The city hired \"J. W. 'Sport' Jones and Henry L. 'Spann' Williams as the city's first Black police officers, but those officers were restricted to Black neighborhoods. Yet the marches pried the lid off segregation. What seemed impossible in 1962 was possible in 1965; what was possible in 1965 was becoming normalized by 1970. Voting rights and the appointment of Thelma Smith-Walker and Dorothy Boseman as the first African American voter registrars in Sumter County opened the door for future change.

The movement continues\nboth as a form of activism and also community remembrance. The Americus-Sumter\nCounty Movement Remembered Committee held its first commemorative event on\nLabor Day weekend in 2007. The organization placed a small exhibit in the local public library and\nbegan planning for a civil rights museum.

The mission of ASCMRC,\nto preserve and interpret civil rights history in Americus and Sumter County,\nreceived a significant boost in 2019 when it received $500,000 from the\nNational Park Service in a federal preservation grant to rehabilitate the old\ncolored hospital and another $500,000 in 2020. The rehabilitation project is\nongoing and will help to tell this story of Americus and the freedom struggle\nfor generations to come. The Sumter Historic Trust is a supporter of the ASCMRC's mission to remember the Americus Movement.

Thank you for taking the \"Hold On, Keep Your Eyes on the Prize.\" Please consider taking another one of our local history tours.

Further reading on the civil rights movement in Americus:

Auchmuty, Jim. The Class of '65: A Student, a Divided Town, and the Long Road to Forgiveness. New York: Public Affairs, 2015.
Quiros, Ansley. God with Us: Lived Theology and the Civil Rights Movement in Americus, Georgia, 1942-1976. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2018.
Tuck, G. N. Stephen. Beyond Atlanta: The Struggle for Racial Equality in Georgia, 1940-1980. Athens: University of Georgia, 2001.
Willis, Vincent D. Audacious Agitation: The Uncompromising Commitment of Black Youth to Equal Education after Brown. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2021.

","direction_intro","direction_notes","icon_color","#D32F2F",324,"lat",32.07696805,"lng",-84.23393413,[136,137],"","orphaned","parking_lat","parking_lng","Stop 12. Remembering the MovementThis history matters to\nall of us.\nThe Americus Movement of\nthe 1960s is one local piece of a centuries-long freedom struggle in the United States and its\ncolonial predecessors. While the civil rights\nera is often bounded by the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954\nand the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, the political\nquestions at the heart of the movement extended far beyond a fourteen-year\nperiod. The civil rights movement in Americus produced incremental—not revolutionary—change. Meaningful integration of Americus High School and Georgia Southwestern State University did not take place until the end of the decade. The city hired \"J. W. 'Sport' Jones and Henry L. 'Spann' Williams as the city's first Black police officers, but those officers were restricted to Black neighborhoods. Yet the marches pried the lid off segregation. What seemed impossible in 1962 was possible in 1965; what was possible in 1965 was becoming normalized by 1970. Voting rights and the appointment of Thelma Smith-Walker and Dorothy Boseman as the first African American voter registrars in Sumter County opened the door for future change.\nThe movement continues\nboth as a form of activism and also community remembrance. The Americus-Sumter\nCounty Movement Remembered Committee held its first commemorative event on\nLabor Day weekend in 2007. The organization placed a small exhibit in the local public library and\nbegan planning for a civil rights museum.\nThe mission of ASCMRC,\nto preserve and interpret civil rights history in Americus and Sumter County,\nreceived a significant boost in 2019 when it received $500,000 from the\nNational Park Service in a federal preservation grant to rehabilitate the old\ncolored hospital and another $500,000 in 2020. The rehabilitation project is\nongoing and will help to tell this story of Americus and the freedom struggle\nfor generations to come. The Sumter Historic Trust is a supporter of the ASCMRC's mission to remember the Americus Movement. Thank you for taking the \"Hold On, Keep Your Eyes on the Prize.\" Please consider taking another one of our local history tours. Further reading on the civil rights movement in Americus:Auchmuty, Jim. The Class of '65: A Student, a Divided Town, and the Long Road to Forgiveness. New York: Public Affairs, 2015.Quiros, Ansley. God with Us: Lived Theology and the Civil Rights Movement in Americus, Georgia, 1942-1976. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2018.Tuck, G. N. Stephen. Beyond Atlanta: The Struggle for Racial Equality in Georgia, 1940-1980. Athens: University of Georgia, 2001.Willis, Vincent D. Audacious Agitation: The Uncompromising Commitment of Black Youth to Equal Education after Brown. 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Stop 11. The Americus Four

A pattern of\npolice brutality and legal intimidation—against white and black civil rights\nactivists—were a common theme in the local movement.

On August\n20, 1963, a white police officer shot and killed James Lee Brown, a Korean War\nveteran and a supporter of the movement. The officers said he had\nan ax. His family buried him in Andersonville\nNational Cemetery.

That same month, as children suffered in the Leesburg\nStockade, police broke up a demonstration in Americus and charged four movement\nleaders with violating the state's 1871 Anti-Treason Act. Those arrested\nincluded Zev Aeolony, the son of a Ukrainian refugee who participated in the\nFreedom Rides, a member of the Congress of Race Equality (CORE), and a member\nof Koinonia Community during the boycotts. The other three arrested were all\nSNCC field secretaries: Don Harris, an African American graduate of Rutgers\nUniversity; Ralph Allen, a Trinity College student; and John Perdew, a junior\nfrom Harvard University. All three were high-level targets because they\nconnected the Americus and Sumter County movements to the Albany Movement. They\nwere also skilled at grassroots organizing. Perdew, in particular, later\nconvinced the Manhattan Shirt Company in Americus to hire Black employees in\nhigher positions than janitor by threatening to organize a domestic worker\nstrike. The \"Americus Four\" were held without bail because their\ncharges carried the death penalty.

The Americus\nFour, like the four women two years later, captured national headlines as an\nexample of a cruel mockery of justice. John Lewis, speaking at the March on\nWashington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, used the men \"who face\nthe death penalty for engaging in peaceful protest\" as an example of the\nneed for a stronger civil rights bill.

The most\nfavorable legal proceedings for civil rights activists in Americus took place\nat the federal courthouse in—what is now—the third floor of the Americus\nMunicipal Building. The defense team for the Americus Four, funded by the NAACP\nLegal Defense Fund, successfully challenged the legality of the charges. When a\nthree-judge panel declared the Anti-Treason Law unconstitutional, local\nofficials responded by charging all four men with assault. A court convicted\nRalph Allen and sentenced him to two-years in prison. Federal courts would\nstrike down the sentence because the court had excluded African Americans from serving\nas jurors.

This silent\nclip shows the entrance of the federal courthouse on October 31, 1963, for a\nhearing that declared the Georgia insurrection law unconstitutional.

",32.07228038,-84.23291527,[194,195,196],"Stop 11. The Americus FourA pattern of\npolice brutality and legal intimidation—against white and black civil rights\nactivists—were a common theme in the local movement.\nOn August\n20, 1963, a white police officer shot and killed James Lee Brown, a Korean War\nveteran and a supporter of the movement. The officers said he had\nan ax. His family buried him in Andersonville\nNational Cemetery.\nThat same month, as children suffered in the Leesburg\nStockade, police broke up a demonstration in Americus and charged four movement\nleaders with violating the state's 1871 Anti-Treason Act. Those arrested\nincluded Zev Aeolony, the son of a Ukrainian refugee who participated in the\nFreedom Rides, a member of the Congress of Race Equality (CORE), and a member\nof Koinonia Community during the boycotts. 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Federal courts would\nstrike down the sentence because the court had excluded African Americans from serving\nas jurors.\nThis silent\nclip shows the entrance of the federal courthouse on October 31, 1963, for a\nhearing that declared the Georgia insurrection law unconstitutional.",[135,193,18,18],{"_74":190,"_132":191,"_133":192},[],"WSB-TV newsfilm clip during Americus Four trial, 1963","wsbn45411, Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips of lawyers for civil rights workers charged with the capital offense of insurrection, police, and trial bystanders in Americus, Georgia, 1963 October 31, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 1102, 49:34/53:02 (http://crdl.usg.edu/cgi/crdl?format=_...), ","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/yu9xwhra81hgh1z8dkjw855h6m8n?variant=desktop","the-city-jail",{"_102":217,"_99":24,"_132":191,"_140":218,"_142":219,"_143":220,"_144":221,"_146":222,"_35":223,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":221,"_154":224,"_155":156,"_74":190,"_157":220},{"_102":207,"_99":139,"_132":-5,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":208,"_146":209,"_35":210,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":208,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":211,"_157":-5},{"_102":197,"_99":139,"_132":-5,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":198,"_146":199,"_35":200,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":-5,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":201,"_157":-5},1061,"20220510_171033.jpg",{"_158":202,"_160":203,"_162":204,"_164":205,"_166":206},1189,"Americus Municipal Building, 2022","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ko9s59k875wvv4yvf2h03uqg1l5g","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ko9s59k875wvv4yvf2h03uqg1l5g?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ko9s59k875wvv4yvf2h03uqg1l5g?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ko9s59k875wvv4yvf2h03uqg1l5g?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ko9s59k875wvv4yvf2h03uqg1l5g?variant=lqip",854,"16448906431.jpeg",{"_158":212,"_160":213,"_162":214,"_164":215,"_166":216},964,"Three of the \"Americus Four,\" 1963","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/3cyrqq0q71u95jztfgldtt6007ko","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/3cyrqq0q71u95jztfgldtt6007ko?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/3cyrqq0q71u95jztfgldtt6007ko?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/3cyrqq0q71u95jztfgldtt6007ko?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/3cyrqq0q71u95jztfgldtt6007ko?variant=lqip",850,480,"//www.youtube.com/embed/JOYpFzGBnGE","JOYpFzGBnGE","JOYpFzGBnGE.jpg",{"_158":225,"_160":226,"_162":227,"_164":192,"_166":228},960,"youtube","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/yu9xwhra81hgh1z8dkjw855h6m8n","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/yu9xwhra81hgh1z8dkjw855h6m8n?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/yu9xwhra81hgh1z8dkjw855h6m8n?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/yu9xwhra81hgh1z8dkjw855h6m8n?variant=lqip",328,"pray-ins","Pray Ins",{"_35":176,"_65":18,"_74":177},10,{"_35":274,"_65":275,"_74":276},330,"205 S Lee St, Americus, GA 31709, USA","

Stop 10. Pray Ins

Churches–like lunch counters, movie theaters, schools, and courthouses–became contested spaces during the civil rights movement.

The majority of white churches in Americus adopted \"closed door\" policies that prohibited African Americans from entering the buildings during worship. Activists challenged both law and custom by entering the buildings or praying outside of them. The purpose was to draw attention to the hypocrisy of Christians who excluded other Christians on the basis of race and skin color.

Although pray-in demonstrations took place at many churches in Sumter County, the ones at the First Baptist Church and–especially First Methodist Church (now First United Methodist Church) captured the most media attention.

The tension in this photograph, taken on August 1, 1965, is gripping. At the bottom of the steps, six teenagers huddle together, kneeling in prayer on the hexagonal paving stones that still line the public sidewalk. Above the kneelers on the fifth step stands members of the community blocking entrance into the church.

Reaction to the pray-ins reflected the broader divide among Christians over race and civil rights in the 1960s. For some, the men and boys standing on the steps represented the hypocrisy of segregation; for others, those on the ground represented the politicization of sacred space.

",32.06997301,-84.23194093,[247,248],"Stop 10. Pray InsChurches–like lunch counters, movie theaters, schools, and courthouses–became contested spaces during the civil rights movement. The majority of white churches in Americus adopted \"closed door\" policies that prohibited African Americans from entering the buildings during worship. Activists challenged both law and custom by entering the buildings or praying outside of them. The purpose was to draw attention to the hypocrisy of Christians who excluded other Christians on the basis of race and skin color. Although pray-in demonstrations took place at many churches in Sumter County, the ones at the First Baptist Church and–especially First Methodist Church (now First United Methodist Church) captured the most media attention. The tension in this photograph, taken on August 1, 1965, is gripping. At the bottom of the steps, six teenagers huddle together, kneeling in prayer on the hexagonal paving stones that still line the public sidewalk. Above the kneelers on the fifth step stands members of the community blocking entrance into the church. Reaction to the pray-ins reflected the broader divide among Christians over race and civil rights in the 1960s. For some, the men and boys standing on the steps represented the hypocrisy of segregation; for others, those on the ground represented the politicization of sacred space.",[135,230,230],{"_74":245,"_132":-5,"_133":246},[],"A \"pray-in\" at First Methodist Church, 1965","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/zaolnqc6a3rr7kp859nv48nrv5a8?variant=desktop",{"_102":262,"_99":24,"_132":-5,"_140":263,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":264,"_146":265,"_35":266,"_149":267,"_151":268,"_153":264,"_154":-5,"_155":269,"_74":245,"_157":-5},{"_102":249,"_99":24,"_132":-5,"_140":250,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":251,"_146":252,"_35":253,"_149":139,"_151":254,"_153":-5,"_154":-5,"_155":255,"_74":256,"_157":-5},1060,338,"20220510_171310.jpg",{"_158":257,"_160":258,"_162":259,"_164":260,"_166":261},1188,135,180,"First United Methodist Church, 2022","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/vy293puiyb3jezlpqeomyruq144x","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/vy293puiyb3jezlpqeomyruq144x?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/vy293puiyb3jezlpqeomyruq144x?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/vy293puiyb3jezlpqeomyruq144x?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/vy293puiyb3jezlpqeomyruq144x?variant=lqip",865,443,"16453876521.jpeg",{"_158":270,"_160":271,"_162":272,"_164":246,"_166":273},975,3,177,236,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/zaolnqc6a3rr7kp859nv48nrv5a8","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/zaolnqc6a3rr7kp859nv48nrv5a8?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/zaolnqc6a3rr7kp859nv48nrv5a8?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/zaolnqc6a3rr7kp859nv48nrv5a8?variant=lqip",327,"bethesda-baptist-church","Bethesda Baptist Church",{"_35":229,"_65":230,"_74":231},9,{"_35":313,"_65":314,"_74":315},329,"226 Forrest St, Americus, GA 31709, USA","

Stop 9. Bethesda Baptist Church

Bethesda Baptist Church–one of the three main city churches to openly support civil rights marches. Founded during Reconstruction on Forrest Street, the brick building dates to about 1920 with a twenty-first century addition in the front.

Churches like Bethesda became civil and political training incubators. In 1942, Bethesda became home to the first Boy Scout Troop for African Americans in the city.

Rev. R. L. Freeman, a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, led Bethesda for forty years from the 1940s through the 1980s. During the 1960s, Rev. Freeman also served as the assistant principal of Staley High School and risked his job–in the hands of an all-white school board–in the pursuit of social justice.

Rev. Freeman’s daughter, Robertiena, was arrested and imprisoned in the Leesburg Stockade for protesting at the Martin Theater. The next year, she became one of four African American students–along with David Bell Jr., Dobbs Wiggins, and Minnie Wise–to integrate Americus High School. The students faced severe harassment from white parents, teachers, and white children. Intimidation forced Wiggins, Bell, and Wise to leave Americus High School before the end of the year. Police targeted Freeman—the last remaining Black student—and arrested both her and boyfriend on exam week in 1965. Freeman finished the 1964-65 school year at Americus High School.

",32.06922766,-84.23504157,[293,294],"Stop 9. Bethesda Baptist ChurchBethesda Baptist Church–one of the three main city churches to openly support civil rights marches. Founded during Reconstruction on Forrest Street, the brick building dates to about 1920 with a twenty-first century addition in the front. Churches like Bethesda became civil and political training incubators. In 1942, Bethesda became home to the first Boy Scout Troop for African Americans in the city. Rev. R. L. Freeman, a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, led Bethesda for forty years from the 1940s through the 1980s. During the 1960s, Rev. Freeman also served as the assistant principal of Staley High School and risked his job–in the hands of an all-white school board–in the pursuit of social justice. Rev. Freeman’s daughter, Robertiena, was arrested and imprisoned in the Leesburg Stockade for protesting at the Martin Theater. The next year, she became one of four African American students–along with David Bell Jr., Dobbs Wiggins, and Minnie Wise–to integrate Americus High School. The students faced severe harassment from white parents, teachers, and white children. Intimidation forced Wiggins, Bell, and Wise to leave Americus High School before the end of the year. Police targeted Freeman—the last remaining Black student—and arrested both her and boyfriend on exam week in 1965. Freeman finished the 1964-65 school year at Americus High School.",[135,275,275],{"_74":290,"_132":291,"_133":292},[],"Rev. R. L. Freeman (white dress shirt), 1965.","Rev. R. L. Freeman, in a white dress shirt, 1965, Americus-Sumter County Movement Remembered Committee.","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/niwocspb9zry88lx3m0l3ditoxqo?variant=desktop",{"_102":305,"_99":24,"_132":291,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":306,"_146":307,"_35":308,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":306,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":290,"_157":-5},{"_102":295,"_99":24,"_132":-5,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":296,"_146":297,"_35":298,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":-5,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":299,"_157":-5},1059,"20220510_170601.jpg",{"_158":300,"_160":301,"_162":302,"_164":303,"_166":304},1187,"Bethesda Baptist Church, 2022","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/rezdk50wos23astje9uloyqcjv94","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/rezdk50wos23astje9uloyqcjv94?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/rezdk50wos23astje9uloyqcjv94?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/rezdk50wos23astje9uloyqcjv94?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/rezdk50wos23astje9uloyqcjv94?variant=lqip",864,"16453862954.jpeg",{"_158":309,"_160":310,"_162":311,"_164":292,"_166":312},974,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/niwocspb9zry88lx3m0l3ditoxqo","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/niwocspb9zry88lx3m0l3ditoxqo?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/niwocspb9zry88lx3m0l3ditoxqo?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/niwocspb9zry88lx3m0l3ditoxqo?variant=lqip",325,"hold-on","Hold On",{"_35":274,"_65":275,"_74":276},8,{"_35":380,"_65":381,"_74":382},"105 S Dudley St, Americus, GA 31709, USA","

Stop 8. Hold On

For most of the marchers in these\nphotographs, the courthouse annex was the destination.

The marches reached a\nhigh-water mark in 1965 in response to the arrest of four Black women for\nintegrating the city's voting lines. Mary Kate Fishe Bell was a 24-year-old\nSpellman graduate and a candidate for the position of justice of the peace.\nShe, along with Mamie Campbell, Lena Turner, and Gloria Wise\nsought—spontaneously—to test the Civil Rights Acts (1964) that outlawed\ndiscrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

This was not the first\nhigh-profile arrest in Americus. In December 1961, police in Albany, Georgia,\nmoved Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, and William G. Anderson to the\nSumter County Jail. King and his SCLC associates spent two nights under the\nsupervision of Sheriff Fred Chappell. As King summarized his experience,\n\"I had the displeasure of meeting the meanest man in the world.\"

The arrests of four\nprominent Black women—including the first Black female candidate for public\noffice (Bell) and the wife of the Sumter County Movement's President (Campbell)\nsparked a resurgence of protests that the city had not seen since 1963. The regional\ncontext—the Selma to Montgomery March that spring—and the national\ncontext—congress finalizing the Voting Rights Act (1965)—pushed Americus into\nthe national spotlight. \"The people have been denied their right to vote\nby local white citizens and some Sumter County officials,\" Hosea Williams\ntold reporters. \"If it takes a massive demonstration to bring justice for\nthese people, [the Southern Christian Leadership Conference] is willing to start a movement.\"Williams promised to make Americus the \"next Selma\" in the summer of\n1965. For weeks, the numbers of daily protestors ranged from the hundreds to a\nthousand. A federal judge released the four women on July 30, 1965, and ordered\nan end to segregated elections. Protests continued.

The voter registration\ndrive that coincided with the 1965 demonstrations produced perhaps the clearest\nlocal victory of the civil rights era. \"Let's get everyone\nregistered,\" activist Dick Gregory told the movement. \"If your\ngrandma won't come hide her snuff and tear up her pension check.\" By the\nend of the summer, more than 1,700 Sumter County residents had registered to\nvote.

Nationally, the national\nvisibility of the protests in Americus helped to break congressional resistance\nto the Voting Rights Act passed at the high-water mark of protests in Americus.

The two clips from the\nsame march show the continued importance of songs like \"Keep Your Eyes on\nthe Prize\" in the streets as well as the sanctuary. The first, with gaps,\nsays:
\n
\n…

Keep your eyes on the\nprize, hold on. Hold on.

Paul and Silas began to\nshout.

The jail door opened and\nthey walked out.

Keep your eyes on the\nprize, hold. Hold on.

...

Now the only thing I did\nwas wrong

[Stayin' in the\nwilderness too long]

[Keep your\neyes on the prize, hold on, hold on]

…

The only thing we did\nwas right

Was the day we started\nto fight

Keep your eyes on the\nprize, hold on, hold on.

The second clip, Benjamin Clark of SCLC addresses the demonstrators in front of the courthouse annex, the only part of the 1959 courthouse\ncomplex still standing.

\nWhat will it take for this community to\nrealize that all we want is an opportunity to participate in the government of\nthis city? We wish to make it emphatically clear that we are not here to\ndestroy the image of Americus, Georgia. We simply want to be free. We are not\nhere to see that people are killed day in and day out; we just want to be free.\n[You would not condemn a man] for getting breakfast because he is hungry. Then\nwhy should you condemn us?

We have some grievances. We're here to express\nour grievances by putting our bodies into the street.

Now the mayor issued a statement earlier this\nmorning. And, God, I'm so happy. I'm so happy that you've finally installed\nsome internal fortitude in this man. You mean to tell me how can a man be\nresponsible for a city and when a people in his city become disturbed and begin\nto demonstrate he sees fit to take a vacation? He saw fit to go fishing. Well,\nwe're here today to tell you that you forgot to carry along the bait. And we\nbrought it to you.
\n

",32.07173269,-84.23831499,[332,333,334,335],"Stop 8. Hold OnFor most of the marchers in these\nphotographs, the courthouse annex was the destination.\nThe marches reached a\nhigh-water mark in 1965 in response to the arrest of four Black women for\nintegrating the city's voting lines. Mary Kate Fishe Bell was a 24-year-old\nSpellman graduate and a candidate for the position of justice of the peace.\nShe, along with Mamie Campbell, Lena Turner, and Gloria Wise\nsought—spontaneously—to test the Civil Rights Acts (1964) that outlawed\ndiscrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.\nThis was not the first\nhigh-profile arrest in Americus. In December 1961, police in Albany, Georgia,\nmoved Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, and William G. Anderson to the\nSumter County Jail. King and his SCLC associates spent two nights under the\nsupervision of Sheriff Fred Chappell. As King summarized his experience,\n\"I had the displeasure of meeting the meanest man in the world.\"\nThe arrests of four\nprominent Black women—including the first Black female candidate for public\noffice (Bell) and the wife of the Sumter County Movement's President (Campbell)\nsparked a resurgence of protests that the city had not seen since 1963. The regional\ncontext—the Selma to Montgomery March that spring—and the national\ncontext—congress finalizing the Voting Rights Act (1965)—pushed Americus into\nthe national spotlight. \"The people have been denied their right to vote\nby local white citizens and some Sumter County officials,\" Hosea Williams\ntold reporters. \"If it takes a massive demonstration to bring justice for\nthese people, [the Southern Christian Leadership Conference] is willing to start a movement.\"Williams promised to make Americus the \"next Selma\" in the summer of\n1965. For weeks, the numbers of daily protestors ranged from the hundreds to a\nthousand. A federal judge released the four women on July 30, 1965, and ordered\nan end to segregated elections. Protests continued.\nThe voter registration\ndrive that coincided with the 1965 demonstrations produced perhaps the clearest\nlocal victory of the civil rights era. \"Let's get everyone\nregistered,\" activist Dick Gregory told the movement. \"If your\ngrandma won't come hide her snuff and tear up her pension check.\" By the\nend of the summer, more than 1,700 Sumter County residents had registered to\nvote.\nNationally, the national\nvisibility of the protests in Americus helped to break congressional resistance\nto the Voting Rights Act passed at the high-water mark of protests in Americus.\nThe two clips from the\nsame march show the continued importance of songs like \"Keep Your Eyes on\nthe Prize\" in the streets as well as the sanctuary. The first, with gaps,\nsays: \n\n…\nKeep your eyes on the\nprize, hold on. Hold on.\nPaul and Silas began to\nshout.\nThe jail door opened and\nthey walked out.\nKeep your eyes on the\nprize, hold. Hold on.\n...\nNow the only thing I did\nwas wrong\n[Stayin' in the\nwilderness too long]\n[Keep your\neyes on the prize, hold on, hold on]\n…\nThe only thing we did\nwas right\nWas the day we started\nto fight\nKeep your eyes on the\nprize, hold on, hold on.\n \nThe second clip, Benjamin Clark of SCLC addresses the demonstrators in front of the courthouse annex, the only part of the 1959 courthouse\ncomplex still standing.\n\nWhat will it take for this community to\nrealize that all we want is an opportunity to participate in the government of\nthis city? We wish to make it emphatically clear that we are not here to\ndestroy the image of Americus, Georgia. We simply want to be free. We are not\nhere to see that people are killed day in and day out; we just want to be free.\n[You would not condemn a man] for getting breakfast because he is hungry. Then\nwhy should you condemn us? \nWe have some grievances. We're here to express\nour grievances by putting our bodies into the street.\nNow the mayor issued a statement earlier this\nmorning. And, God, I'm so happy. I'm so happy that you've finally installed\nsome internal fortitude in this man. You mean to tell me how can a man be\nresponsible for a city and when a people in his city become disturbed and begin\nto demonstrate he sees fit to take a vacation? He saw fit to go fishing. Well,\nwe're here today to tell you that you forgot to carry along the bait. And we\nbrought it to you.\n\n\n",[135,331,314,314],{"_74":328,"_132":329,"_133":330},[],"Benjamin Clark (SCLC) addressing marchers, 1965","Citation: wsbn38840, Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips of the state of community race relations including civil rights demonstrations, a funeral procession, and interviews in Americus, Georgia, 1965 July, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 0148, 00:00/27:45, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/2ibqhi90xmg126utld9d8vovjqxx?variant=desktop","the-armory",{"_102":370,"_99":24,"_132":329,"_140":218,"_142":371,"_143":372,"_144":373,"_146":374,"_35":375,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":373,"_154":224,"_155":156,"_74":328,"_157":372},{"_102":357,"_99":139,"_132":358,"_140":218,"_142":359,"_143":360,"_144":361,"_146":362,"_35":363,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":361,"_154":224,"_155":156,"_74":364,"_157":360},{"_102":346,"_99":267,"_132":-5,"_140":347,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":348,"_146":349,"_35":350,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":348,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":351,"_157":-5},{"_102":336,"_99":267,"_132":118,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":337,"_146":338,"_35":339,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":-5,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":340,"_157":-5},1058,"20220510_164422.jpg",{"_158":341,"_160":342,"_162":343,"_164":344,"_166":345},1186,"Courthouse Annex, 2022","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/0xevda7nhyquxntflgjs2lxao2fd","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/0xevda7nhyquxntflgjs2lxao2fd?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/0xevda7nhyquxntflgjs2lxao2fd?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/0xevda7nhyquxntflgjs2lxao2fd?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/0xevda7nhyquxntflgjs2lxao2fd?variant=lqip",853,500,"16448902737.jpeg",{"_158":352,"_160":353,"_162":354,"_164":355,"_166":356},963,"Voting Registrars Dorothy Bozeman and Thelma Smith-Walker, 1965 ","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/khg3hphfscwmbt6lcom93mnlvbwl","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/khg3hphfscwmbt6lcom93mnlvbwl?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/khg3hphfscwmbt6lcom93mnlvbwl?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/khg3hphfscwmbt6lcom93mnlvbwl?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/khg3hphfscwmbt6lcom93mnlvbwl?variant=lqip",852,"wsbn38840, Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips of the state of community race relations including civil rights demonstrations, a funeral procession, and interviews in Americus, Georgia, 1965 July, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 0148, 00:00/27:45 ","//www.youtube.com/embed/woHvN-0G0Fg","woHvN-0G0Fg","woHvN-0G0Fg.jpg",{"_158":365,"_160":366,"_162":367,"_164":368,"_166":369},962,"WSB-TV newsfilm clip, Sumter County Courthouse, 1965","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/0eqzx2iy6vbbv7a4u8a12un3rn1o","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/0eqzx2iy6vbbv7a4u8a12un3rn1o?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/0eqzx2iy6vbbv7a4u8a12un3rn1o?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/0eqzx2iy6vbbv7a4u8a12un3rn1o?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/0eqzx2iy6vbbv7a4u8a12un3rn1o?variant=lqip",828,"//www.youtube.com/embed/6PrHWa8XQoA","6PrHWa8XQoA","6PrHWa8XQoA.jpg",{"_158":376,"_160":377,"_162":378,"_164":330,"_166":379},937,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/2ibqhi90xmg126utld9d8vovjqxx","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/2ibqhi90xmg126utld9d8vovjqxx?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/2ibqhi90xmg126utld9d8vovjqxx?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/2ibqhi90xmg126utld9d8vovjqxx?variant=lqip",321,"consumer-activism","Consumer Activism",{"_35":313,"_65":314,"_74":315},7,{"_35":386,"_65":455,"_74":456},323,"

Stop 7. Consumer Activism

From the Boston Tea\nParty to the Montgomery Bus boycotts and beyond, generations of Americans have\nused their buying power as an extension of\npolitical activism. White residents of Sumter County\nbegan boycotting Koinonia Farm in the 1950s; African Americans used boycotts in\nAmericus to desegregate schools, businesses, city jobs, and force the release\nof four women for integrating a white voting line.

Boycotts expanded in the\nsummer of 1965. Civil rights activists targeted three grocery stores—the\nColonial and the Piggly Wiggly on Lee Street, and the Kwik-Chek on Dudley\nStreet—in an effort to force those businesses to hire Black employees. Some\nactivists took the boycott to mean all white-owned businesses. Organized\ncaravans driving all the way to Albany kept food in the pantries of Black homes\nin Americus. Protestors carried signs that read, \"I CAN SPEND MY MY\nMY MONEY BUT I CAN'T REGISTER OR VOTE\",\" \"I DON'T WANT TO\nKEEP MY MONEY BUT YOU ARE KEEPING MY RIGHTS,\" \"YOU CAN'T BUY FREEDOM\nDOWNTOWN,\" and \"LET'S NOT BUY UNTIL WE CAN WORK.\"

After several weeks, as\nRev. J. R. Campbell recalled, white city officials agreed to\nintegrate Martin Theater and hire the first two Black policemen and two Black\nfirefighters in exchange for ending the boycott. As another activist summarized\nthe effects, \"we economically boycotted this city 'til it hurt.\"

The silent video shows protesters walking up Dudley Street past the Kwik Chek—one of the boycott targets.

\n",32.07208729,-84.23798432,[397,398,399,400,401],"Stop 7. Consumer ActivismFrom the Boston Tea\nParty to the Montgomery Bus boycotts and beyond, generations of Americans have\nused their buying power as an extension of\npolitical activism. White residents of Sumter County\nbegan boycotting Koinonia Farm in the 1950s; African Americans used boycotts in\nAmericus to desegregate schools, businesses, city jobs, and force the release\nof four women for integrating a white voting line.\nBoycotts expanded in the\nsummer of 1965. Civil rights activists targeted three grocery stores—the\nColonial and the Piggly Wiggly on Lee Street, and the Kwik-Chek on Dudley\nStreet—in an effort to force those businesses to hire Black employees. Some\nactivists took the boycott to mean all white-owned businesses. Organized\ncaravans driving all the way to Albany kept food in the pantries of Black homes\nin Americus. Protestors carried signs that read, \"I CAN SPEND MY MY\nMY MONEY BUT I CAN'T REGISTER OR VOTE\",\" \"I DON'T WANT TO\nKEEP MY MONEY BUT YOU ARE KEEPING MY RIGHTS,\" \"YOU CAN'T BUY FREEDOM\nDOWNTOWN,\" and \"LET'S NOT BUY UNTIL WE CAN WORK.\"\nAfter several weeks, as\nRev. J. R. Campbell recalled, white city officials agreed to\nintegrate Martin Theater and hire the first two Black policemen and two Black\nfirefighters in exchange for ending the boycott. As another activist summarized\nthe effects, \"we economically boycotted this city 'til it hurt.\"The silent video shows protesters walking up Dudley Street past the Kwik Chek—one of the boycott targets.\n",[135,381,381],{"_74":395,"_132":-5,"_133":396},[],"Protests on Dudley Street, 1965","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/f46ua16efoivpr7q6phd2v028p0v?variant=desktop",{"_102":447,"_99":24,"_132":-5,"_140":438,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":448,"_146":449,"_35":450,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":448,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":395,"_157":-5},{"_102":437,"_99":139,"_132":-5,"_140":438,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":439,"_146":440,"_35":441,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":439,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":395,"_157":-5},{"_102":424,"_99":403,"_132":425,"_140":218,"_142":426,"_143":427,"_144":428,"_146":429,"_35":430,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":428,"_154":224,"_155":156,"_74":431,"_157":427},{"_102":414,"_99":403,"_132":415,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":416,"_146":417,"_35":418,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":416,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":415,"_157":-5},{"_102":402,"_99":403,"_132":404,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":405,"_146":406,"_35":407,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":-5,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":408,"_157":-5},1057,4,"The Kwik Chek Building is on the left.","20220510_164118.jpg",{"_158":409,"_160":410,"_162":411,"_164":412,"_166":413},1185,"Looking North on Dudley Street, 2022","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/9i19ke0brthucov46we5rusvxtt8","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/9i19ke0brthucov46we5rusvxtt8?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/9i19ke0brthucov46we5rusvxtt8?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/9i19ke0brthucov46we5rusvxtt8?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/9i19ke0brthucov46we5rusvxtt8?variant=lqip",862,"Willie “Mukasa” Ricks, Rev. R.L. Freemam, Carol Barner, Rev. J.R. Campbell, and Benjamin Clark (left to right) marching for voting rights, 1965","16449719056.jpeg",{"_158":419,"_160":420,"_162":421,"_164":422,"_166":423},972,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/qi7otbgnh51eeu3wmrrvnqy215rt","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/qi7otbgnh51eeu3wmrrvnqy215rt?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/qi7otbgnh51eeu3wmrrvnqy215rt?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/qi7otbgnh51eeu3wmrrvnqy215rt?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/qi7otbgnh51eeu3wmrrvnqy215rt?variant=lqip",861,"wsbn41882, Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips of Lester Maddox speaking to a white audience, African Americans protest segregation, and newsman Tom Brokaw interviews mayor T. Griffin Walker in Americus, Georgia, 1965 July 29, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 0908, 00:57","//www.youtube.com/embed/OSgT8Fpx9nI","OSgT8Fpx9nI","OSgT8Fpx9nI.jpg",{"_158":432,"_160":433,"_162":434,"_164":435,"_166":436},971,"WSB-TV news clip, Dudley Street, 1965","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ag33v8wr244bs6c09wxc4ltpht8a","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ag33v8wr244bs6c09wxc4ltpht8a?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ag33v8wr244bs6c09wxc4ltpht8a?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ag33v8wr244bs6c09wxc4ltpht8a?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ag33v8wr244bs6c09wxc4ltpht8a?variant=lqip",827,700,"16445260168.jpeg",{"_158":442,"_160":443,"_162":444,"_164":445,"_166":446},935,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/wwbgtxbicdu8o0s6wen12xdb22qc","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/wwbgtxbicdu8o0s6wen12xdb22qc?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/wwbgtxbicdu8o0s6wen12xdb22qc?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/wwbgtxbicdu8o0s6wen12xdb22qc?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/wwbgtxbicdu8o0s6wen12xdb22qc?variant=lqip",826,"16445258405.jpeg",{"_158":451,"_160":452,"_162":453,"_164":396,"_166":454},934,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/f46ua16efoivpr7q6phd2v028p0v","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/f46ua16efoivpr7q6phd2v028p0v?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/f46ua16efoivpr7q6phd2v028p0v?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/f46ua16efoivpr7q6phd2v028p0v?variant=lqip","backlash","Backlash",{"_35":380,"_65":381,"_74":382},6,{"_35":493,"_65":494,"_74":495},"302 Forrest St, Americus, GA 31709, USA","

Stop 6. Backlash

Civil rights activists were not the only protestors to take the streets in Americus. On August 9, 1965, Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon Calvin Craig led 600 Klansmen through the streets of Americus. Arch-segregationist Lester Maddox led a rally at the Sumter County fairgrounds. It was neither the first nor the last time the Ku Klux Klan marched on some of the same streets as the civil rights demonstrators.

Other forms of backlash were less visible. The majority of whites in Americus did not confront civil rights activists in the streets or at church doors. Yet neither did they embrace the movement or its small gains at the time. \"They asked for the preservation of law and order,\" one historian of the Americus movement writes. \"They stayed home. They whispered among themselves and challenged the morality of the movement, ostracized white dissidents, and formed private Christian schools.\" White dissenters, including city attorney Warren Fortson—who pressed for the formation of a biracial committee—and Georgia Southwestern College president Lloyd Moll, found themselves ostracized from the community. The backlash forced Fortson to leave his job, his home, and the city.

Memories are emotional. Many local activists perceived and remembered the changes that came to Americus afterwards—the move of businesses to the edges of town and the removal of \"blight\" in the 1970s and 80s—as part of a broader rejection of the movement's gains. From this perspective, which is not shared by everyone, one of the slowest but most-important forms of backlash came as a rejection of a city and public institutions in the late-twentieth century.

",32.07208037,-84.23490816,[471,472],"Stop 6. BacklashCivil rights activists were not the only protestors to take the streets in Americus. On August 9, 1965, Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon Calvin Craig led 600 Klansmen through the streets of Americus. Arch-segregationist Lester Maddox led a rally at the Sumter County fairgrounds. It was neither the first nor the last time the Ku Klux Klan marched on some of the same streets as the civil rights demonstrators. Other forms of backlash were less visible. The majority of whites in Americus did not confront civil rights activists in the streets or at church doors. Yet neither did they embrace the movement or its small gains at the time. \"They asked for the preservation of law and order,\" one historian of the Americus movement writes. \"They stayed home. They whispered among themselves and challenged the morality of the movement, ostracized white dissidents, and formed private Christian schools.\" White dissenters, including city attorney Warren Fortson—who pressed for the formation of a biracial committee—and Georgia Southwestern College president Lloyd Moll, found themselves ostracized from the community. The backlash forced Fortson to leave his job, his home, and the city. Memories are emotional. Many local activists perceived and remembered the changes that came to Americus afterwards—the move of businesses to the edges of town and the removal of \"blight\" in the 1970s and 80s—as part of a broader rejection of the movement's gains. From this perspective, which is not shared by everyone, one of the slowest but most-important forms of backlash came as a rejection of a city and public institutions in the late-twentieth century.",[135,455,455],{"_74":469,"_132":-5,"_133":470},[],"Ku Klux Klan march on Lamar Street, 1965","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/g27h7r4ligbz8yaikmdg2lae5eon?variant=desktop",{"_102":482,"_99":24,"_132":-5,"_140":483,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":484,"_146":485,"_35":486,"_149":403,"_151":487,"_153":484,"_154":-5,"_155":488,"_74":469,"_157":-5},{"_102":473,"_99":24,"_132":-5,"_140":-5,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":474,"_146":475,"_35":476,"_149":-5,"_151":-5,"_153":-5,"_154":-5,"_155":-5,"_74":474,"_157":-5},1056,"20220510_164734.jpg",{"_158":477,"_160":478,"_162":479,"_164":480,"_166":481},1184,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/cdo0czefv96dg951u0f646hv8lyu","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/cdo0czefv96dg951u0f646hv8lyu?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/cdo0czefv96dg951u0f646hv8lyu?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/cdo0czefv96dg951u0f646hv8lyu?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/cdo0czefv96dg951u0f646hv8lyu?variant=lqip",855,558,"16448910261.jpeg",{"_158":489,"_160":490,"_162":491,"_164":470,"_166":492},965,223,298,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/g27h7r4ligbz8yaikmdg2lae5eon","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/g27h7r4ligbz8yaikmdg2lae5eon?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/g27h7r4ligbz8yaikmdg2lae5eon?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/g27h7r4ligbz8yaikmdg2lae5eon?variant=lqip",320,"the-martin-theatre","The Martin Theatre",{"_35":386,"_65":455,"_74":456},{"_35":540,"_65":541,"_74":542},"205 W Forsyth St, Americus, GA 31709, USA","

Stop 5. The Martin Theatre

Demonstrators carried\ntraumatic memories of their own. Marchers heading to the courthouse in 1965\npassed by the Martin Theater where, two years earlier, police arrested dozens\nof teenage boys and girls. The subsequent imprisonment of those children produced\nsome of the most visceral photographs of southwest Georgia during the civil\nrights era.

Activists chose the\nMartin Theater in 1963 for its high visibility and the stark differences in the\nsegregated entrances. Whites entered in the front. African Americans, one\nactivist recalls, \"had to walk around the side of the theater down a dark\nalley about 100 or 150 feet, then walk up three flights of stairs, and sit in\nthe balcony to look at the theater.\" In\nJuly and August 1963, the Martin Theater became a flashpoint for protests. At\nleast two of the male teenagers arrested for protesting at the Martin Theater\nwere forced to clean out sewage tanks at gunpoint. Dozens of Black teenage and\npre-teenage children found themselves locked\nin county jails in Dawson and Leesburg.

Some of the girls\narrested at the Martin Theater found themselves taken away to Lee County, where\npolice imprisoned them for weeks without charges in a cement box that became\nknown as the \"Leesburg Stockade.\" As the March on Washington for Jobs\nand Freedom unfolded in August 1963, the children suffered in a filthy stockade\nwith intermittent running water. \"We ate four hamburgers a day,\"\nJuanita Freeman Wilson recalled. \"We had no visitors…. We spent our time singing.\nWe spent our time joking.\" Officials released some of the girls, children\nof the principal and vice principal of Staley High School, early in an effort\nto end a boycott of segregated schools. Many of the other children from poorer\nhouseholds remained at the Leesburg Stockade for weeks longer. Those who\nremained came to national attention when a SNCC worker from Atlanta snuck up to\nthe windows and took photographs of the imprisoned children. The images were\npublished first in JET and, later, in\nthe Chicago Defender.

\n",32.07349004,-84.23435011,[509,510,511],"Stop 5. The Martin TheatreDemonstrators carried\ntraumatic memories of their own. Marchers heading to the courthouse in 1965\npassed by the Martin Theater where, two years earlier, police arrested dozens\nof teenage boys and girls. The subsequent imprisonment of those children produced\nsome of the most visceral photographs of southwest Georgia during the civil\nrights era.\nActivists chose the\nMartin Theater in 1963 for its high visibility and the stark differences in the\nsegregated entrances. Whites entered in the front. African Americans, one\nactivist recalls, \"had to walk around the side of the theater down a dark\nalley about 100 or 150 feet, then walk up three flights of stairs, and sit in\nthe balcony to look at the theater.\" In\nJuly and August 1963, the Martin Theater became a flashpoint for protests. At\nleast two of the male teenagers arrested for protesting at the Martin Theater\nwere forced to clean out sewage tanks at gunpoint. Dozens of Black teenage and\npre-teenage children found themselves locked\nin county jails in Dawson and Leesburg.\nSome of the girls\narrested at the Martin Theater found themselves taken away to Lee County, where\npolice imprisoned them for weeks without charges in a cement box that became\nknown as the \"Leesburg Stockade.\" As the March on Washington for Jobs\nand Freedom unfolded in August 1963, the children suffered in a filthy stockade\nwith intermittent running water. \"We ate four hamburgers a day,\"\nJuanita Freeman Wilson recalled. \"We had no visitors…. We spent our time singing.\nWe spent our time joking.\" Officials released some of the girls, children\nof the principal and vice principal of Staley High School, early in an effort\nto end a boycott of segregated schools. Many of the other children from poorer\nhouseholds remained at the Leesburg Stockade for weeks longer. Those who\nremained came to national attention when a SNCC worker from Atlanta snuck up to\nthe windows and took photographs of the imprisoned children. The images were\npublished first in JET and, later, in\nthe Chicago Defender.\n",[135,494,494],{"_74":507,"_132":-5,"_133":508},[],"Martin Theatre, ca. 1963","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ooj1vvq93z19ves0ch84lyn7ughd?variant=desktop",{"_102":532,"_99":24,"_132":-5,"_140":438,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":533,"_146":534,"_35":535,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":533,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":507,"_157":-5},{"_102":522,"_99":139,"_132":-5,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":523,"_146":524,"_35":525,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":523,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":526,"_157":-5},{"_102":512,"_99":139,"_132":-5,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":513,"_146":514,"_35":515,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":-5,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":516,"_157":-5},1055,"20220510_164941.jpg",{"_158":517,"_160":518,"_162":519,"_164":520,"_166":521},1183,"Site of the Martin Theatre","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/pw01d25a9002aaak6cvqi5tkf6mx","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/pw01d25a9002aaak6cvqi5tkf6mx?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/pw01d25a9002aaak6cvqi5tkf6mx?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/pw01d25a9002aaak6cvqi5tkf6mx?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/pw01d25a9002aaak6cvqi5tkf6mx?variant=lqip",845,"16448700694.jpeg",{"_158":527,"_160":528,"_162":529,"_164":530,"_166":531},955,"Leesburg Stockade, 2020","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/2ttj4zucboid0akne0x6iy8q8cbv","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/2ttj4zucboid0akne0x6iy8q8cbv?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/2ttj4zucboid0akne0x6iy8q8cbv?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/2ttj4zucboid0akne0x6iy8q8cbv?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/2ttj4zucboid0akne0x6iy8q8cbv?variant=lqip",833,"16445273890.jpeg",{"_158":536,"_160":537,"_162":538,"_164":508,"_166":539},942,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ooj1vvq93z19ves0ch84lyn7ughd","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ooj1vvq93z19ves0ch84lyn7ughd?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ooj1vvq93z19ves0ch84lyn7ughd?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ooj1vvq93z19ves0ch84lyn7ughd?variant=lqip",319,"birdsey-feed-store","Birdsey Feed Store",{"_35":493,"_65":494,"_74":495},{"_35":604,"_65":605,"_74":606},"103 W Forsyth St, Americus, GA 31709, USA","

Stop 4. Birdsey Feed Store

Turning west onto\nForsyth Street, even the youngest marchers could have remembered what happened\nat the corner just a few years before.

Koinonia, an interracial\nChristian commune established ten miles southwest of Americus in 1942,\nbecame the target of direct and indirect violence a decade later in the\naftermath of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education(1954). The Supreme Court decision\nprecipitated the rise of White Citizens Councils across Georgia and the rest of\nthe South. The local turning point came when Clarence Jordan, Koinonia's\nfounder, supported the enrollment of Black students in the Georgia State\nCollege of Business (now Georgia State University) in Atlanta. Reaction against Koinonia\nfirst came in the form of direct violence: sabotage of farm machinery; bombings\nof the farm's produce stands; and shots fired into the houses. Then came an\neconomic boycott of Koinonia to deny the farm food, farm supplies, and even\ninsurance. Enforcing the boycott led to violence in Americus. When Herbert\nBirdsey sold chicken feed to Koinonia farm, terrorists bombed the store at the corner\nof Forsyth and Lee on Sunday, May 19, 1957. The blast damaged the storefront\nand broke windows at Citizens Bank and surrounding buildings. It even\ndamaged the clock on the county courthouse that stood across the street until a\nnew courthouse opened on Lamar Street in 1959. The feed store never reopened.
\n
\nNo arrests were made. In the aftermath of the bombing, city leaders put\neven more pressure on Koinonia to leave Sumter County as a means of preserving\nthe peace. There were persistent rumors—in white and Black\ncommunities—that a prominent businessman funded the terrorism and\nfirefighters carried out the attack. No one was ever held responsible for the\nbombing.

Activism in Americus\ncarried the real threat of economic intimidation, physical violence, and even\ndeath. It is no surprise then that African Americans and scarce white allies\nwere not united in the decision to take to the streets. Different risk\ntolerances compounded differing ideas about ideology and tactics. The people\nwho marched in the streets fought for everyone's freedom, but most people stayed home.

Marchers—and spectators\nfrom the sidewalk—knew that if segregationists could bomb a white business\nwithout consequences, violence could strike anyone near a protest. Police in\nAmericus had already beaten protestors with clubs and burned them with cattle\nprods.

A silent video shows the marchers turning onto Forsyth and passing the next block.

",32.0733573,-84.23266244,[557,558,559,560],"Stop 4. Birdsey Feed StoreTurning west onto\nForsyth Street, even the youngest marchers could have remembered what happened\nat the corner just a few years before.\nKoinonia, an interracial\nChristian commune established ten miles southwest of Americus in 1942,\nbecame the target of direct and indirect violence a decade later in the\naftermath of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education(1954). The Supreme Court decision\nprecipitated the rise of White Citizens Councils across Georgia and the rest of\nthe South. The local turning point came when Clarence Jordan, Koinonia's\nfounder, supported the enrollment of Black students in the Georgia State\nCollege of Business (now Georgia State University) in Atlanta. Reaction against Koinonia\nfirst came in the form of direct violence: sabotage of farm machinery; bombings\nof the farm's produce stands; and shots fired into the houses. Then came an\neconomic boycott of Koinonia to deny the farm food, farm supplies, and even\ninsurance. Enforcing the boycott led to violence in Americus. When Herbert\nBirdsey sold chicken feed to Koinonia farm, terrorists bombed the store at the corner\nof Forsyth and Lee on Sunday, May 19, 1957. The blast damaged the storefront\nand broke windows at Citizens Bank and surrounding buildings. It even\ndamaged the clock on the county courthouse that stood across the street until a\nnew courthouse opened on Lamar Street in 1959. The feed store never reopened.\n\nNo arrests were made. In the aftermath of the bombing, city leaders put\neven more pressure on Koinonia to leave Sumter County as a means of preserving\nthe peace. There were persistent rumors—in white and Black\ncommunities—that a prominent businessman funded the terrorism and\nfirefighters carried out the attack. No one was ever held responsible for the\nbombing.\nActivism in Americus\ncarried the real threat of economic intimidation, physical violence, and even\ndeath. It is no surprise then that African Americans and scarce white allies\nwere not united in the decision to take to the streets. Different risk\ntolerances compounded differing ideas about ideology and tactics. The people\nwho marched in the streets fought for everyone's freedom, but most people stayed home.\nMarchers—and spectators\nfrom the sidewalk—knew that if segregationists could bomb a white business\nwithout consequences, violence could strike anyone near a protest. Police in\nAmericus had already beaten protestors with clubs and burned them with cattle\nprods. A silent video shows the marchers turning onto Forsyth and passing the next block.",[135,556,541,541],{"_74":554,"_132":-5,"_133":555},[],"Forsyth and Lee, ca. 1965","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/hpicnh90pw24lvxusrl1gjuejrg3?variant=desktop","herbert-birdsey-feed-store",{"_102":596,"_99":24,"_132":-5,"_140":438,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":597,"_146":598,"_35":599,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":597,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":554,"_157":-5},{"_102":583,"_99":139,"_132":118,"_140":584,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":585,"_146":586,"_35":587,"_149":267,"_151":588,"_153":585,"_154":-5,"_155":589,"_74":590,"_157":-5},{"_102":571,"_99":267,"_132":358,"_140":218,"_142":572,"_143":573,"_144":574,"_146":575,"_35":576,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":574,"_154":224,"_155":156,"_74":577,"_157":573},{"_102":561,"_99":267,"_132":-5,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":562,"_146":563,"_35":564,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":-5,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":565,"_157":-5},1054,"20220510_165301.jpg",{"_158":566,"_160":567,"_162":568,"_164":569,"_166":570},1182,"Corner of Lee and Forsyth Streets","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/p7ah4oudtsos3f2uxxc3ya7ktl55","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/p7ah4oudtsos3f2uxxc3ya7ktl55?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/p7ah4oudtsos3f2uxxc3ya7ktl55?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/p7ah4oudtsos3f2uxxc3ya7ktl55?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/p7ah4oudtsos3f2uxxc3ya7ktl55?variant=lqip",860,"//www.youtube.com/embed/ZzJnevIG_XQ","ZzJnevIG_XQ","ZzJnevIG_XQ.jpg",{"_158":578,"_160":579,"_162":580,"_164":581,"_166":582},970,"WSB-TV news clip, Forsyth Street, 1965","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/w9aj4x0wsujz5srhn95e3a6ewzhd","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/w9aj4x0wsujz5srhn95e3a6ewzhd?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/w9aj4x0wsujz5srhn95e3a6ewzhd?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/w9aj4x0wsujz5srhn95e3a6ewzhd?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/w9aj4x0wsujz5srhn95e3a6ewzhd?variant=lqip",824,349,"16445224708.jpeg",{"_158":591,"_160":592,"_162":593,"_164":594,"_166":595},931,165,221,"The Bee (Danville, Virginia), May 20, 1957","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/99w2qqpergwuyioy8ndgkaehc1i1","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/99w2qqpergwuyioy8ndgkaehc1i1?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/99w2qqpergwuyioy8ndgkaehc1i1?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/99w2qqpergwuyioy8ndgkaehc1i1?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/99w2qqpergwuyioy8ndgkaehc1i1?variant=lqip",829,"16445271084.jpeg",{"_158":600,"_160":601,"_162":602,"_164":555,"_166":603},938,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/hpicnh90pw24lvxusrl1gjuejrg3","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/hpicnh90pw24lvxusrl1gjuejrg3?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/hpicnh90pw24lvxusrl1gjuejrg3?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/hpicnh90pw24lvxusrl1gjuejrg3?variant=lqip",277,"listening-to-the-movement","Listening to the Movement",{"_35":540,"_65":541,"_74":542},{"_35":665,"_65":666,"_74":667},279,"101 W Jefferson St, Americus, GA 31709, USA","

Stop 3. Listening to the Movement

The Albany Movement is\nsometimes called the \"singing movement\" and the same could be said of\nthe movement in this city. Spirituals, including \"We Shall Overcome\" and\n\"Eyes on the Prize,\" had deep roots in southwest Georgia when SNCC\nand Albany State's \"Freedom Singers\" and Pete Seeger popularized the\nprotest tunes. Americus activists sung and popularized these songs as well.

Facing north from the\nintersection of Prince and Lee streets, you are looking into the historically\nAfrican American sections of Americus. In the 1960s, there were houses from\nthis intersection to the railroad tracks in the valley. Almost all of those\nhouses are gone; most of the businesses have been replaced by newer buildings.\nTwo exceptions are the wooden house directly across the street and the wooden\nstore at the bottom of the hill at the corner of Lee and Ashby Streets.

The song, \"I Ain't\nScared of Nobody (Because I Want My Freedom)\" was recorded by Moses Moon\nin Allen Chapel at the corner of Lester and Lee streets. These recordings preserved the voices of demonstrators as they prepared to\nwalk from Allen Chapel down this street.\nMarchers traced and\nretraced this route during the civil rights\nera.

\"I Ain't Scared of\nNobody\" combined ritual and improvisation that drew participants closer\ntogether in a shared struggle. The song combines elements of call and response,\nin which a participant\ncalls \"I ain't scared of [improvised term]\" and other\nparticipants respond, \"because I want my\nfreedom, I want my freedom, I want my freedom. I ain't scared of [improved\nterm] because I want my freedom, I want my freedom now.\" Most popular\ncivil rights songs followed similar patterns of formula and improvisation that\nlocalized each singing of the protest song.

\nFor example, demonstrators in 1963 brought in the names of county sheriff, Fred\nChappell:

I ain't scared of Fred\nChappell,

'cause I want my\nfreedom,

I want my freedom,

I ain't scared of Fred\nChappell

'cause I want my\nfreedom, I want my freedom now.

The songs also stated\nout loud the dangers that marchers were likely to face. By identifying\nimpending dangers—jail, police dogs, etc.—marchers readied themselves for the\nmarch into the valley and up the hill into the city.

On August 17, 1963, the\nfinal song demonstrators sang at Allen Chapel was a protest version of\n\"This Little Light of Mine.\" Fred Chappell makes another appearance.\n\"All in Fred Chappell's house,\" someone says, \"I'm going to let\nit shine.\" Fred Chappell's \"house,\" of course, was the county\njail where most of the singers ended up that night.

The movement involved all ages, but children were on the front lines and their voices stand out in the recordings. They began their march a mile north of this spot and passed their junior high school as the walked into the valley, over the railroad tracks, and up the steep hill to this location.

Now we will parallel on the sidewalk the path the\nmarchers took on the street into the central business district.

\n\n

",32.07535609,-84.23257963,[621,622,623,624],"Stop 3. Listening to the MovementThe Albany Movement is\nsometimes called the \"singing movement\" and the same could be said of\nthe movement in this city. Spirituals, including \"We Shall Overcome\" and\n\"Eyes on the Prize,\" had deep roots in southwest Georgia when SNCC\nand Albany State's \"Freedom Singers\" and Pete Seeger popularized the\nprotest tunes. Americus activists sung and popularized these songs as well. \nFacing north from the\nintersection of Prince and Lee streets, you are looking into the historically\nAfrican American sections of Americus. In the 1960s, there were houses from\nthis intersection to the railroad tracks in the valley. Almost all of those\nhouses are gone; most of the businesses have been replaced by newer buildings.\nTwo exceptions are the wooden house directly across the street and the wooden\nstore at the bottom of the hill at the corner of Lee and Ashby Streets.\nThe song, \"I Ain't\nScared of Nobody (Because I Want My Freedom)\" was recorded by Moses Moon\nin Allen Chapel at the corner of Lester and Lee streets. These recordings preserved the voices of demonstrators as they prepared to\nwalk from Allen Chapel down this street.\nMarchers traced and\nretraced this route during the civil rights\nera.\n\"I Ain't Scared of\nNobody\" combined ritual and improvisation that drew participants closer\ntogether in a shared struggle. The song combines elements of call and response,\nin which a participant\ncalls \"I ain't scared of [improvised term]\" and other\nparticipants respond, \"because I want my\nfreedom, I want my freedom, I want my freedom. I ain't scared of [improved\nterm] because I want my freedom, I want my freedom now.\" Most popular\ncivil rights songs followed similar patterns of formula and improvisation that\nlocalized each singing of the protest song.\n\nFor example, demonstrators in 1963 brought in the names of county sheriff, Fred\nChappell:\nI ain't scared of Fred\nChappell, \n'cause I want my\nfreedom, \nI want my freedom, \nI want my freedom, \nI ain't scared of Fred\nChappell \n'cause I want my\nfreedom, I want my freedom now.\n \nThe songs also stated\nout loud the dangers that marchers were likely to face. By identifying\nimpending dangers—jail, police dogs, etc.—marchers readied themselves for the\nmarch into the valley and up the hill into the city. On August 17, 1963, the\nfinal song demonstrators sang at Allen Chapel was a protest version of\n\"This Little Light of Mine.\" Fred Chappell makes another appearance.\n\"All in Fred Chappell's house,\" someone says, \"I'm going to let\nit shine.\" Fred Chappell's \"house,\" of course, was the county\njail where most of the singers ended up that night. The movement involved all ages, but children were on the front lines and their voices stand out in the recordings. They began their march a mile north of this spot and passed their junior high school as the walked into the valley, over the railroad tracks, and up the steep hill to this location. Now we will parallel on the sidewalk the path the\nmarchers took on the street into the central business district.\n\n\n\n",[135,605,605],{"_74":619,"_132":-5,"_133":620},[],"Looking North on Lee Street, ca. 1965","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/l4ahpjcaezva3rolgnecme5uscab?variant=desktop",{"_102":657,"_99":24,"_132":-5,"_140":438,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":658,"_146":659,"_35":660,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":658,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":619,"_157":-5},{"_102":647,"_99":139,"_132":-5,"_140":438,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":648,"_146":649,"_35":650,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":648,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":651,"_157":-5},{"_102":635,"_99":267,"_132":118,"_140":-5,"_142":636,"_143":637,"_144":638,"_146":639,"_35":640,"_149":-5,"_151":-5,"_153":-5,"_154":224,"_155":-5,"_74":641,"_157":637},{"_102":625,"_99":403,"_132":-5,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":626,"_146":627,"_35":628,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":-5,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":629,"_157":-5},1053,"20220510_165413.jpg",{"_158":630,"_160":631,"_162":632,"_164":633,"_166":634},1181,"Facing North at Prince and Lee Streets","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/jtwwrz2mwr6gsedmpfr46bura99e","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/jtwwrz2mwr6gsedmpfr46bura99e?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/jtwwrz2mwr6gsedmpfr46bura99e?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/jtwwrz2mwr6gsedmpfr46bura99e?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/jtwwrz2mwr6gsedmpfr46bura99e?variant=lqip",1098,"//www.youtube.com/embed/u9KJbW3PdkI","u9KJbW3PdkI","u9KJbW3PdkI.jpg",{"_158":642,"_160":643,"_162":644,"_164":645,"_166":646},1235,"This Little Light of Mine (Civil Rights Tour)","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ze10nrdol3lkfvwgi56vsj2xn5vq","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ze10nrdol3lkfvwgi56vsj2xn5vq?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ze10nrdol3lkfvwgi56vsj2xn5vq?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ze10nrdol3lkfvwgi56vsj2xn5vq?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ze10nrdol3lkfvwgi56vsj2xn5vq?variant=lqip",844,"16448699463.jpeg",{"_158":652,"_160":653,"_162":654,"_164":655,"_166":656},954,"Looking North on Lee Street, ca. 1965 ","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/e9sttm62rtcmmdoiwprl7gh0l2am","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/e9sttm62rtcmmdoiwprl7gh0l2am?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/e9sttm62rtcmmdoiwprl7gh0l2am?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/e9sttm62rtcmmdoiwprl7gh0l2am?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/e9sttm62rtcmmdoiwprl7gh0l2am?variant=lqip",825,"16445257902.jpeg",{"_158":661,"_160":662,"_162":663,"_164":620,"_166":664},933,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/l4ahpjcaezva3rolgnecme5uscab","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/l4ahpjcaezva3rolgnecme5uscab?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/l4ahpjcaezva3rolgnecme5uscab?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/l4ahpjcaezva3rolgnecme5uscab?variant=lqip",318,"friendship-baptist-church","Friendship Baptist Church",{"_35":604,"_65":605,"_74":606},{"_35":735,"_65":736,"_74":737},"407 Cotton Ave, Americus, GA 31709, USA","

Stop 2. Friendship Baptist Church

The civil rights\nmovement was a religious conflict. African American churches, forged in slavery\nand tempered in segregation, produced a distinctive Black Christian theology by\nthe twentieth century. The tenets included a firm belief in universal and inalienable human dignity, the\ninnate sinfulness of racism as an affront to God, and the promise of divine\ndeliverance. These tenets would become the basic foundation for groups like the\nSouthern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and, later, SNCC.

Representatives of SNCC\nin Albany, Georgia tapped into the influence of local Black churches in 1962 to\nexpand voter registration and education initiatives that already existed in\nSumter County. Pleasant Grove, New Pineville, and New Corinth Baptist churches\nin the county held some of the first mass meetings. In Americus, pastors J. R.\nCampbell of Allen Chapel AME, R. L. Freeman of Bethesda Baptist, and Rev.\nUlysses Brown of Union Tabernacle Baptist Church led activist congregations.\nThey coordinated with county leaders and turned individual initiatives into a\ncounty-wide movement connected to the regional, national, and international\nstruggle for freedom and Black dignity.

The groundswell movement\nincluded other churches too. Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, organized in\n1895, was one of few churches within the city business district. Frank Wiley\nJr. recalls that his pastor, Rev. Daniel Thomas \"was a conservative\npreacher\" but he \"operated without fear\" during the civil rights\nmovement. \"Fight for your right to have the right to go where you want to\ngo and do what you want to do, but understand that with these freedoms comes\nresponsibility.\" In August 1963, Americus police arrested dozens and broke up hundreds of\ndemonstrators on Cotton Avenue after a mass meeting at this church.

In 1965, only months\nafter \"Bloody Sunday\" in Selma, SCLC representative Rev. Hosea\nWilliams preached here. It was not his first time to the city and he carried traumatic memories.\nShortly after World War II, Williams—still in his U.S. army uniform—flaunted\nsegregation laws by drinking from the only water fountain at the Trailways Bus\nStation. White men attacked Williams and nearly beat the veteran to death. It\ntook Williams months to recover in a VA hospital.

\nThe photographs from inside\nFriendship Baptist Church offer a rare glimpse into one mass meeting. As you\nwalk up Prince Street toward Lee Street, listen to a recording from a mass\nmeeting at Allen Chapel further north of the city. At that corner, you will\ncross paths with one of the avenues of protest into the city. It is the same\npath that the men, women, and children whose voices you hear took into the\ncity.

",32.07579907,-84.23462441,[682,683,684,685,686],"Stop 2. Friendship Baptist ChurchThe civil rights\nmovement was a religious conflict. African American churches, forged in slavery\nand tempered in segregation, produced a distinctive Black Christian theology by\nthe twentieth century. The tenets included a firm belief in universal and inalienable human dignity, the\ninnate sinfulness of racism as an affront to God, and the promise of divine\ndeliverance. These tenets would become the basic foundation for groups like the\nSouthern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and, later, SNCC.\nRepresentatives of SNCC\nin Albany, Georgia tapped into the influence of local Black churches in 1962 to\nexpand voter registration and education initiatives that already existed in\nSumter County. Pleasant Grove, New Pineville, and New Corinth Baptist churches\nin the county held some of the first mass meetings. In Americus, pastors J. R.\nCampbell of Allen Chapel AME, R. L. Freeman of Bethesda Baptist, and Rev.\nUlysses Brown of Union Tabernacle Baptist Church led activist congregations.\nThey coordinated with county leaders and turned individual initiatives into a\ncounty-wide movement connected to the regional, national, and international\nstruggle for freedom and Black dignity.\nThe groundswell movement\nincluded other churches too. Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, organized in\n1895, was one of few churches within the city business district. Frank Wiley\nJr. recalls that his pastor, Rev. Daniel Thomas \"was a conservative\npreacher\" but he \"operated without fear\" during the civil rights\nmovement. \"Fight for your right to have the right to go where you want to\ngo and do what you want to do, but understand that with these freedoms comes\nresponsibility.\" In August 1963, Americus police arrested dozens and broke up hundreds of\ndemonstrators on Cotton Avenue after a mass meeting at this church.\nIn 1965, only months\nafter \"Bloody Sunday\" in Selma, SCLC representative Rev. Hosea\nWilliams preached here. It was not his first time to the city and he carried traumatic memories.\nShortly after World War II, Williams—still in his U. S. army uniform—flaunted\nsegregation laws by drinking from the only water fountain at the Trailways Bus\nStation. White men attacked Williams and nearly beat the veteran to death. It\ntook Williams months to recover in a VA hospital.\nThe photographs from inside\nFriendship Baptist Church offer a rare glimpse into one mass meeting. As you\nwalk up Prince Street toward Lee Street, listen to a recording from a mass\nmeeting at Allen Chapel further north of the city. At that corner, you will\ncross paths with one of the avenues of protest into the city. It is the same\npath that the men, women, and children whose voices you hear took into the\ncity.\n\n",[135,666,666],{"_74":679,"_132":680,"_133":681},[],"Friendship Baptist Church, 1965","Courtesy of the Americus-Sumter County Movement Remembered Committee, Inc.","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/p2xd010no4c12a1feij6c0t1kv8l?variant=desktop",{"_102":727,"_99":24,"_132":680,"_140":438,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":728,"_146":729,"_35":730,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":728,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":679,"_157":-5},{"_102":718,"_99":139,"_132":-5,"_140":438,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":719,"_146":720,"_35":721,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":719,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":679,"_157":-5},{"_102":709,"_99":267,"_132":-5,"_140":438,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":710,"_146":711,"_35":712,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":710,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":679,"_157":-5},{"_102":697,"_99":403,"_132":118,"_140":218,"_142":698,"_143":699,"_144":700,"_146":701,"_35":702,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":700,"_154":224,"_155":156,"_74":703,"_157":699},{"_102":687,"_99":403,"_132":-5,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":688,"_146":689,"_35":690,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":-5,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":691,"_157":-5},1052,"20220510_165614.jpg",{"_158":692,"_160":693,"_162":694,"_164":695,"_166":696},1180,"Friendship Baptist Church, 2022","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/1h0pubp9n6gd2g0g9jvl3ir8n75g","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/1h0pubp9n6gd2g0g9jvl3ir8n75g?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/1h0pubp9n6gd2g0g9jvl3ir8n75g?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/1h0pubp9n6gd2g0g9jvl3ir8n75g?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/1h0pubp9n6gd2g0g9jvl3ir8n75g?variant=lqip",856,"//www.youtube.com/embed/TaBH_pt_enQ","TaBH_pt_enQ","TaBH_pt_enQ.jpg",{"_158":704,"_160":705,"_162":706,"_164":707,"_166":708},966,"Americus Freedom Songs, Ain't Scared of Nobody 'Cause I Want My Freedom","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ksb4lfywlkdgedf60qo6arl5ldzs","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ksb4lfywlkdgedf60qo6arl5ldzs?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ksb4lfywlkdgedf60qo6arl5ldzs?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ksb4lfywlkdgedf60qo6arl5ldzs?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/ksb4lfywlkdgedf60qo6arl5ldzs?variant=lqip",843,"16448698477.jpeg",{"_158":713,"_160":714,"_162":715,"_164":716,"_166":717},953,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/zi0gu8zbslp9chqefvi9fxf4rebd","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/zi0gu8zbslp9chqefvi9fxf4rebd?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/zi0gu8zbslp9chqefvi9fxf4rebd?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/zi0gu8zbslp9chqefvi9fxf4rebd?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/zi0gu8zbslp9chqefvi9fxf4rebd?variant=lqip",832,"16445272733.jpeg",{"_158":722,"_160":723,"_162":724,"_164":725,"_166":726},941,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/pvlwlzdf3p5nrrb5a9vbxnhexy0u","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/pvlwlzdf3p5nrrb5a9vbxnhexy0u?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/pvlwlzdf3p5nrrb5a9vbxnhexy0u?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/pvlwlzdf3p5nrrb5a9vbxnhexy0u?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/pvlwlzdf3p5nrrb5a9vbxnhexy0u?variant=lqip",830,"16445272547.jpeg",{"_158":731,"_160":732,"_162":733,"_164":681,"_166":734},939,"https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/p2xd010no4c12a1feij6c0t1kv8l","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/p2xd010no4c12a1feij6c0t1kv8l?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/p2xd010no4c12a1feij6c0t1kv8l?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/p2xd010no4c12a1feij6c0t1kv8l?variant=lqip",313,"old-colored-hospital","Old Colored Hospital",{"_35":665,"_65":666,"_74":667},315,"133 Wild St, Americus, GA 31709, USA","

Stop 1. Old Colored Hospital

Americus, like most southern cities, has complicated history. In the 1940s and 50s, racial codes of Jim Crow Segregation—of\nseparation and inequality—were on stark display. It was, though, never a place\nwithout hope or without loving communities. Black businesses and civic\ninstitutions were central to African American experiences in Americus before, during,\nand after the civil rights era.

In the 1950s and 60s,\nBlack-owned businesses stretched in an arc around the northern side of Americus\nfrom Cotton Avenue and Forsyth Street to Strive Street and Oglethorpe Avenue.\nOn Cotton Avenue, landmarks included Fletcher Morgan's Barber Shop and Weston the Tailor, Soul City\nCafé, and the Simpson's Café, a combination restaurant and juke joint. The\nstreet—like so much of north Americus—has changed greatly in the last fifty\nyears. It is hard to imagine that it was once a main commercial district in the\ncity.

Business relationships\nand civic networks became the avenues of coordination and communication during\nthe civil rights era. Boy Scout Troop 250 met at Bethesda Baptist Church on Forrest Street just\nsouth of the business district. The Masons were on Bumphead Road. Black\nveterans met at American Legion Post 558 one block north of here. An Elks\nClub met in a lodge on Lee Street near Town Creek. Their lodge became the first\nFreedom Center just across from James Miles's One-Stop Service Station. Students at Staley Junior High School on Lee Street became many of the \"foot soldiers\" of the Americus Movement.

There was also the\nBarnum Funeral home on Prince and, later, on Ashby Street. John, Thelma, and\n\"Grandma\" Mable Barnum turned their business into a center for the\nlocal movement. John Barnum, who served as treasurer of the Sumter County\nMovement, bailed out protesters and found himself targeted by city officials and imprisoned.

The \"Old Colored Hospital\" was another cornerstone of African American life in the mid-twentieth century. Built in 1923, a few years after a global influenza pandemic tore through the city, through a biracial partnership and the fundraising efforts of Dr. W. S. Prather and the Junior Welfare League. The hospital became one of the earliest institutions in the region to serve African Americans. Made obsolete by the completion of the still-segregated Americus-Sumter County Hospital in 1953, the City Federation of Colored Women’s club purchased the old hospital and created the Americus Youth Center. It also functioned as a library in the years before African Americans could access the public library. Through the help of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC - pronounced “Snick”), the Americus Youth Center amassed more than 7,000 books.

As you walk to the second stop at the historic\nlocation of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church on Cotton Avenue, listen to\nRev. Pearly Brown's song, \"It's a Mean Old\nWorld.\" Rev. Brown grew up in Americus, began performing music on these\nstreets, and spent most of his life in the city while commuting by bus to\nperform in Macon. This blind musician's songs predated, permeated, and postdated the civil\nrights movement on these city streets. He\noften played downtown near the corner of Forsyth and\nJackson streets and at the Trailways bus station. In his later years, Rev. Brown had a local radio show, performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and influenced many Georgia rock and roll musicians.

",32.07722259,-84.23416818,[751,752,753],"Stop 1. Old Colored HospitalAmericus, like most southern cities, has complicated history. In the 1940s and 50s, racial codes of Jim Crow Segregation—of\nseparation and inequality—were on stark display. It was, though, never a place\nwithout hope or without loving communities. Black businesses and civic\ninstitutions were central to African American experiences in Americus before, during,\nand after the civil rights era.\nIn the 1950s and 60s,\nBlack-owned businesses stretched in an arc around the northern side of Americus\nfrom Cotton Avenue and Forsyth Street to Strive Street and Oglethorpe Avenue.\nOn Cotton Avenue, landmarks included Fletcher Morgan's Barber Shop and Weston the Tailor, Soul City\nCafé, and the Simpson's Café, a combination restaurant and juke joint. The\nstreet—like so much of north Americus—has changed greatly in the last fifty\nyears. It is hard to imagine that it was once a main commercial district in the\ncity.\nBusiness relationships\nand civic networks became the avenues of coordination and communication during\nthe civil rights era. Boy Scout Troop 250 met at Bethesda Baptist Church on Forrest Street just\nsouth of the business district. The Masons were on Bumphead Road. Black\nveterans met at American Legion Post 558 one block north of here. An Elks\nClub met in a lodge on Lee Street near Town Creek. Their lodge became the first\nFreedom Center just across from James Miles's One-Stop Service Station. Students at Staley Junior High School on Lee Street became many of the \"foot soldiers\" of the Americus Movement.\nThere was also the\nBarnum Funeral home on Prince and, later, on Ashby Street. John, Thelma, and\n\"Grandma\" Mable Barnum turned their business into a center for the\nlocal movement. John Barnum, who served as treasurer of the Sumter County\nMovement, bailed out protesters and found himself targeted by city officials and imprisoned.\nThe \"Old Colored Hospital\" was another cornerstone of African American life in the mid-twentieth century. Built in 1923, a few years after a global influenza pandemic tore through the city, through a biracial partnership and the fundraising efforts of Dr. W. S. Prather and the Junior Welfare League. The hospital became one of the earliest institutions in the region to serve African Americans. Made obsolete by the completion of the still-segregated Americus-Sumter County Hospital in 1953, the City Federation of Colored Women’s club purchased the old hospital and created the Americus Youth Center. It also functioned as a library in the years before African Americans could access the public library. Through the help of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC - pronounced “Snick”), the Americus Youth Center amassed more than 7,000 books.\nAs you walk to the second stop at the historic\nlocation of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church on Cotton Avenue, listen to\nRev. Pearly Brown's song, \"It's a Mean Old\nWorld.\" Rev. Brown grew up in Americus, began performing music on these\nstreets, and spent most of his life in the city while commuting by bus to\nperform in Macon. This blind musician's songs predated, permeated, and postdated the civil\nrights movement on these city streets. He\noften played downtown near the corner of Forsyth and\nJackson streets and at the Trailways bus station. In his later years, Rev. Brown had a local radio show, performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, and influenced many Georgia rock and roll musicians.",[135,736,736],{"_74":749,"_132":-5,"_133":750},[],"Nurses at the \"Old Colored Hospital\"","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/fbca06sfv2xi5umpu3e16dupkszr?variant=desktop",{"_102":777,"_99":24,"_132":-5,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":778,"_146":779,"_35":780,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":778,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":749,"_157":-5},{"_102":764,"_99":139,"_132":765,"_140":218,"_142":766,"_143":767,"_144":768,"_146":769,"_35":770,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":768,"_154":224,"_155":156,"_74":771,"_157":767},{"_102":754,"_99":139,"_132":-5,"_140":141,"_142":-5,"_143":-5,"_144":755,"_146":756,"_35":757,"_149":150,"_151":152,"_153":-5,"_154":-5,"_155":156,"_74":758,"_157":-5},1051,"20220509_202926.jpg",{"_158":759,"_160":760,"_162":761,"_164":762,"_166":763},1179,"Old Colored Hospital, 2022","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/nup8v3ojx8z2u4198x6il3x0m8ir","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/nup8v3ojx8z2u4198x6il3x0m8ir?variant=mobile","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/nup8v3ojx8z2u4198x6il3x0m8ir?variant=tablet","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/nup8v3ojx8z2u4198x6il3x0m8ir?variant=desktop","https://api.opentour.site/georgia-humanities/v4/public/media/nup8v3ojx8z2u4198x6il3x0m8ir?variant=lqip",842,"Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group\n\nIt's A Mean Old World To Try To Live In · Reverend Pearly Brown\n\nIt's A Mean Old World To Try To Live In\n\n℗ 1975 Rounder Records, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.\n\nReleased on: 1975-01-01\n\nAssociated Performer, Vocals, Guitar: Reverend Pearly Brown\nStudio Personnel, Recording Engineer: Bruce Kaplan\nStudio Personnel, Recording Engineer: Bill Nowlin\nComposer Lyricist: Traditional\n\nAuto-generated by YouTube.","//www.youtube.com/embed/6S2avvDgPwA","6S2avvDgPwA","6S2avvDgPwA.jpg",{"_158":772,"_160":773,"_162":774,"_164":775,"_166":776},952,"It's A Mean Old World To Try To Live In, Reverend Pearly 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