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Remembering Americus, Georgia:: Essays on Southern Life
The city of Americus--seat of Sumter County, Georgia--has a rich past that stretches back hundreds of years. The people and events that shaped Americus are unique and compelling, and the history of the area shares many parallels with the larger history of the South.
From the pioneer era in southern Georgia to the present day, the triumphs and toils of Sumter County are often mirrored in the story of the South.
Like many Southern communities, Americus features a fascinating heritage, the details of which can surprise even longtime residents. The area's history overflows with an intriguing cast of characters whose exploits have helped to enrich the colorful story of Americus. This portion of southern Georgia has also played host to more than its fair share of famous personalities, from C.S.A. President Jefferson Davis at the end of the Civil War to Yasser Arafat, who visited President Jimmy Carter at Sumter County home.
Remembering Americus, Essays on Southern Life, by local resident and historian Alan Anderson, is a delightful compilation of historical vignettes drawn from Anderson's work for the Times-Recorder newspaper in Americus. Anderson's insightful and entertaining writings offer a glimpse into the history of Americus and Sumter County, and reveal how the area's past is reflected in the history of the South.
From the pioneer era in southern Georgia to the present day, the triumphs and toils of Sumter County are often mirrored in the story of the South.
Like many Southern communities, Americus features a fascinating heritage, the details of which can surprise even longtime residents. The area's history overflows with an intriguing cast of characters whose exploits have helped to enrich the colorful story of Americus. This portion of southern Georgia has also played host to more than its fair share of famous personalities, from C.S.A. President Jefferson Davis at the end of the Civil War to Yasser Arafat, who visited President Jimmy Carter at Sumter County home.
Remembering Americus, Essays on Southern Life, by local resident and historian Alan Anderson, is a delightful compilation of historical vignettes drawn from Anderson's work for the Times-Recorder newspaper in Americus. Anderson's insightful and entertaining writings offer a glimpse into the history of Americus and Sumter County, and reveal how the area's past is reflected in the history of the South.
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 16, 2025
I learned so much about our county where we live, some great historical things and people and some horrific events that happened that made me cry and very disturbing.
I learned about the famous Elbert ahead "from slave to capitalist and Republican Party Leader". What an amazing man and life!
In 1913 a horrific and depravity of humanity and the justice system happened when men took justice into their own hands, "An Unwarranted Act of Brutality and Barbarism". I will be forever changed by this story and whenever I drive by this area I will never forget.
Let's learn about history to understand and not repeat the horrors of the past & remember good things so we can repeat and learn to thrive from them.
I learned about the famous Elbert ahead "from slave to capitalist and Republican Party Leader". What an amazing man and life!
In 1913 a horrific and depravity of humanity and the justice system happened when men took justice into their own hands, "An Unwarranted Act of Brutality and Barbarism". I will be forever changed by this story and whenever I drive by this area I will never forget.
Let's learn about history to understand and not repeat the horrors of the past & remember good things so we can repeat and learn to thrive from them.
December 21, 2024
An unconnected series of accounts from Americus's history. The writing was average and somewhat disjointed, jumping around in time without clear connections from chapter to chapter or any sort of overarching narrative. However, I saw nothing that appeared historically inaccurate or factually biased, and believe Mr. Anderson to be an honest historian.
I noticed that only 1 of the 7 person-focused chapters profiled a Black person. You would think that there was more than 1 Black resident of Americus who had a history deserving of such attention. Not only were the other 6 of 7 person-focused chapters about a White person, but 4 of those 6 were about a person from the mid-1800s who was on the Confederate side of the Civil War. "Never forget" still dominates historical thought in this region.
Even more worrisome was the "looking away" attitude towards the Civil Rights struggle in Americus, which is far and away its defining historical issue. After reading the book I can hardly remember him saying anything about the Americus Movement organized by SNCC and the NAACP, the work of activists like Ralph Allen, Mary K. Fishe, and Sam Mahone, Martin Luther King Jr.'s arrest in Americus and subsequent tagging of Sumter County's sheriff as "The meanest man in the world", or the arrest of hundreds if not thousands of Black protestors including the notorious month-long detention of the teenage girls in horrific conditions in the "Leesburg Stockade". There was no talk of the debate over segregated schools, of Robertina Freeman and the other Black children who finally integrated the schools and the intense public fight against them (and against any white person who stood with them), or the "segregation academy" that was formed to ensure a whites-only education could still exist even after the feds forced integration to be the law of the land. Koinonia Farm was hardly mentioned despite the extensive church bans, shootings, bombings, and economic boycott that were leveled against its members for daring to practice integration, not to mention the miraculous birthing of Habitat for Humanity from its near-ruins. And the Americus Colored Hospital, in its time the only hospital in all of South Georgia where Black doctors could practice, could have had a lot more space.
I'm not saying that some of those things were not mentioned - a few were mentioned, in passing. But none were focused on. And don't the Black residents of Americus, who form half its population, deserve more than that? Or was this book not for them?
I noticed that only 1 of the 7 person-focused chapters profiled a Black person. You would think that there was more than 1 Black resident of Americus who had a history deserving of such attention. Not only were the other 6 of 7 person-focused chapters about a White person, but 4 of those 6 were about a person from the mid-1800s who was on the Confederate side of the Civil War. "Never forget" still dominates historical thought in this region.
Even more worrisome was the "looking away" attitude towards the Civil Rights struggle in Americus, which is far and away its defining historical issue. After reading the book I can hardly remember him saying anything about the Americus Movement organized by SNCC and the NAACP, the work of activists like Ralph Allen, Mary K. Fishe, and Sam Mahone, Martin Luther King Jr.'s arrest in Americus and subsequent tagging of Sumter County's sheriff as "The meanest man in the world", or the arrest of hundreds if not thousands of Black protestors including the notorious month-long detention of the teenage girls in horrific conditions in the "Leesburg Stockade". There was no talk of the debate over segregated schools, of Robertina Freeman and the other Black children who finally integrated the schools and the intense public fight against them (and against any white person who stood with them), or the "segregation academy" that was formed to ensure a whites-only education could still exist even after the feds forced integration to be the law of the land. Koinonia Farm was hardly mentioned despite the extensive church bans, shootings, bombings, and economic boycott that were leveled against its members for daring to practice integration, not to mention the miraculous birthing of Habitat for Humanity from its near-ruins. And the Americus Colored Hospital, in its time the only hospital in all of South Georgia where Black doctors could practice, could have had a lot more space.
I'm not saying that some of those things were not mentioned - a few were mentioned, in passing. But none were focused on. And don't the Black residents of Americus, who form half its population, deserve more than that? Or was this book not for them?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews