Founded in 1925 as Fairview Cemetery, Lincoln Cemetery is the final resting place for many notable Black Atlantans. Tiger Flowers, the renowned boxer, was one of the original benefactors to help develop the cemetery. The cemetery is over 100 acres, with many of the acres not yet developed.
Gertrude “Ma” Rainey Pridgett (1886-1939) is considered the “Mother of Blues.” Columbus, Georgia was her home which is where she was born.
She started performing by the age of 14 and began touring as part of vaudeville and minstrel shows. Known for her dynamic performances, Ma Rainey made a name for herself as she toured the country.
The Ma Rainey house, now a museum, was the home that Ma purchased for her mother and where she moved into upon her return to Columbus. Initially, the home was the typical shotgun that can still be seen in the neighborhood, but Rainey had a new two-story home built. She lived there until her death in 1939. The house was saved from demolition by neglect by committed Columbus preservationists. It was put on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1992.
Ma Rainey rests in Porterdale Cemetery, which was once known as the Colored Cemetery. It was put on the NRHP in 1980.
Opened in 1924, the Liberty Theatre was a segregated theatre that hosted Ma Rainey and other Black artists. Rainey eventually purchased the theater. It was put on the NRHP in 1984.
Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was a Black artist known for her colorful and impressionist work. Born in Columbus, Georgia, she and her family lived there until she was sixteen. In 1907, they relocated to Washington, DC to escape the racial hostility and threats of violence that were directed towards the Black community at the hands of whites.
She was considered a member of the Washington School of Color. A lifelong art teacher, she was the first graduate of the art department at Howard University.
Suggested books
Ricky Wilson was a founding member and lead guitarist for the band The B-52s. Founded in 1976, the group helped put Athens, Georgia on the musical map. While most think of REM and Athens, The B-52s were one of the first musical groups I obsessed over. I loved the fun and quirkiness of the band.
As they were growing in popularity, Ricky Wilson found out he had AIDS and died in 1985. Like so many men who died during the early days of the AIDS crisis, his obituary listed he had died cancer. The band was so crushed by his loss that they did not make anymore music until the release of Cosmic Thing, five years later. It wasn’t until this album was released that band members shared he had died of AIDS related complications.
Whenever I am in Athens, I usually make time to visit Oconee Hill Ce,every and will stop to pay my respects to Ricky. Whenever I visit, there’s always some memento left behind.
If you’ve never seen the AIDS Quilt, you view Ricky’s pieces of the quilt at The National AIDS Memorial.
The Good Shepherd Episcopal Church and School are two buildings that remain of a historic Black community known as Pennick in Glynn County, Georgia. The school and church were founded by Deaconess Anna Alexander in the early 20th Century. Deaconess Alexander was the first Black deaconess in the Episcopal Church. in 1998, she was named a Saint of Georgia by the Diocese of Georgia.
The school building is one of my favorite schoolhouses. It is listed as a Place in Peril by The Georgia Trust of Historic Preservation.
Deaconess Alexander’s final resting place is in front of the schoolhouse.
