Our fall 2024 grant cycle received 56 applications requesting $133,926. Of the 53 eligible applications, the Grants Committee awarded a total of $32,481 to 15 Georgia educational and cultural organizations, nearly half of which have never been funded by Georgia Humanities before. This cycle’s grant recipients are located in ten communities across the state, spanning eight congressional districts, and will produce programming that will be available to Georgians in all 159 Georgia counties.
Culture, Community, and Collections: Activating Asian American Archives in Greater Atlanta
Emory University Libraries | Atlanta (5th Congressional District) | $2,000
The Georgia Asian American Community Archives Initiative (GAACAI) at Emory University Libraries will partner with community members and Asian American organizations to host three events in 2025: a discussion panel with Atlanta publishers, an educational booth at the Festival of India, and local history and zine making workshop.
Lonnie King, Jr. Traveling Exhibition
Georgia State University Library Special Collections| Atlanta (5th Congressional District) | $2,100
GSU Special Collections will create a traveling exhibit based on the Lonnie King Papers. This exhibit covers the life of Lonnie King, the Atlanta Student Movement, and legacy. The exhibit will start at the Auburn Avenue Research Library, GSU and travel through the GPLS traveling exhibit program.
African American Education in Jim Crow Era Brunswick: Creating a Community in a Segregated City
Glynn Board of Commissioners| Brunswick (1st Congressional District) | $2,402
The Glynn Board of Commissioners will create a traveling public exhibit highlighting the history of segregated education in Brunswick, Georgia. The project will also include community scan day event with each exhibit showing to encourage residents to preserve and share their own historical materials.
More than a Name: Commemorating Bulloch’s African American Fallen Soldiers of WWI
Georgia Southern University Department of History | Statesboro (12th Congressional District) | $2,330
Of the 26 Bulloch soldiers who died in the First World War, half were African American. This project will take the form of an exhibit that tells the stories of the 13 African American fallen soldiers from Bulloch whose experiences were overlooked in postwar commemorative efforts.
America’s Other Irish – A Musical Journey
Redwine Productions LLC| Stonecrest (4th Congressional District) | $2,500
America’s Other Irish – A Musical Journey, a public television documentary with digital supplements, will explore how the Scots-Irish have influenced democracy in America with the same values and spirit reflected in their music. The Georgia Humanities funding will support field production of the documentary in Georgia.
Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in William T. Sherman’s Army
Cobb County Public Libraries | Marietta (11th Congressional District) | $1,800
A misconception has persisted since the Civil War’s end: there were no African American soldiers in Sherman’s Army. However, resident expert Brad Quinlin has discovered records which prove otherwise. This project will create a traveling exhibit and provide lectures to tell the story of these men.
Flannery O’Connor Centennial Series
Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home Foundation and Museum| Savannah (1st Congressional District) | $2,493
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of acclaimed Georgia author Flannery O’Connor, the Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home Foundation and Museum will sponsor a series of talks and a panel discussion focused on race, religion, and disability in O’Connor’s work and in the modern South.
Refounding Macon: Carved into the Landscape
Mercer University College of Liberal Arts, Beloved Community Initiative| Macon (2nd Congressional District) | $2,000
The Beloved Community Initiative will produce a fifth and final episode of the documentary film series on Macon’s racial past. The episode will narrate how the legacy of race is visible today in Macon’s geography. The episode will be designed for community viewing and small group discussion.
So They Might Be Known
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation | Macon (2nd Congressional District) | $2,500
The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation seeks to interpret and share the history of the African American experience at the Johnston-Felton Hay House from the 1860s-1960s. Using information gathered from historic letters, photographs, census records, etc., we plan to develop an exhibit utilizing informational panels.
Dahlonega Discovery Trails, Choose Your Own Adventure: Scavenger Hunts and Geocaching
The Appalachian Studies Center, University of North Georgia | Dahlonega (9th Congressional District) | $2,406
The Appalachian Studies Center at University of North Georgia, in partnership with the Downtown Dahlonega Visitor & Tourism Bureau, will create interactive scavenger hunts and a geocache trail to engage and educate about the history, varied perspectives, stories, and diverse culture of Dahlonega.
“The Water Spirit Will Take Us Home”: Igbo Landing in African and African-American Art
Wesleyan College | Macon (8th Congressional District) | $2,500
Heritage Works, Inc. will expand its collection of local Gullah Geechee histories on the coast of Georgia. The expansion will assist in the growth of the already existing StoryCorps community and assist in the training of others interested in their personal development in historic preservation.
Sapelo Island Fall/Winter Festival
Hog Hammock Public Library | Sapelo Island (1st Congressional District) | $1,200
This seasonal festival will bring community members together to celebrate the Fall season while experiencing Gullah Geechee storytelling, crafts, games, food and more. Through family friendly programming, the festival will encourage community development and cultural preservation for the island.
Reading and Discussion of Queen Bess: A Bessie Coleman Story by Amina McIntyre
Théâtre du Rêve | Atlanta (5th Congressional District) | $1,250
Théâtre du Rêve commissioned Amina McIntyre to write Queen Bess: A Bessie Coleman Story, a bilingual play about the first Black Cherokee woman pilot, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Coleman’s death (April 30, 2026). Georgia Humanities will support a workshop presentation and discussion of the piece in the Spring/Summer of 2025.
The Atlantian Revival: United States Federal Penitentiary Newspaper
Common Good Atlanta | Atlanta (4th Congressional District) | $2,500
Common Good Atlanta will continue a newspaper at Atlanta Federal Prison, staffed by incarcerated individuals & supported by formerly incarcerated professionals. Recruited from students in our Morehouse humanities courses, this initiative will connect education and journalism in prison, fostering future growth
The “Spotlight on the Imperial” Project
Jack Hadley Black History Museum, Inc. | Thomasville (2nd Congressional District) | $2,500
The “Spotlight on the Imperial” project will raise awareness of the Imperial Hotel as a Greenbook Hotel worthy of preservation. The Greenbook was a guide for African Americans who needed information about safe places for lodging and other essentials as they traveled during the Jim Crow era.
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