From Melissa Forgey at the DeKalb History Center sends along the info for this month’s Lunch & Learn on Tuesday July 19th at noon…

The DeKalb History Center’s Lunch and Learn Lecture Series continues in July with a presentation by Professor Clifford Kuhn of Georgia State University.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Decatur resident Arthur Raper was one of the South’s leading liberals. Raper’s work as research secretary for the Commission on Interracial Cooperation and as a founding member of the Southern Conference for Human Welfare, his classic works on lynching and the plantation South, and his involvement with the New Deal have all been amply chronicled in the historical literature. However, from 1932 to 1939, Raper also taught sociology at Agnes Scott College, an experience largely neglected in the literature. An examination of Raper’s sometimes controversial tenure at Agnes Scott reveals an important yet forgotten dimension of his life, an experience he himself later referred to as perhaps his “finest hour.” It also sheds light on white women’s education of the period.

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The DeKalb History Center hosts this month’s “Lunch & Learn” next Tuesday, May 17th at noon, in downtown Decatur at the Old Courthouse.   This month’s lecture explores Emory University’s history.  Here’s the Center’s press release…

DECATUR – The DeKalb History Center’s Lunch and Learn Lecture Series continues in May with a presentation by Gary Hauk of Emory University.

Emory University observes its 175th anniversary in 2011, and more than half of the university’s life has been lived in DeKalb County. Born in Newton County during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, Emory came to DeKalb in the twentieth century courtesy of Vanderbilt University’s truculence and Asa Candler’s munificence. Through lean times and fat, the university’s history offers tales of saints and scoundrels, vision and misdirection, perseverance and imagination. From the launching of a humble school in rural Georgia to the building of one of the nation’s great urban research universities — a Georgian university that does not play intercollegiate football! — the story unfolds with the help of archival photographs and a lively narrative.

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From the DeKalb History Center…

DECATUR – The DeKalb History Center’s Lunch and Learn Lecture Series continues in September with a presentation by Walt Drake. Walt will give highlights of the history of Decatur from its founding in 1823 through the present, including profiles of certain notable leaders, and commentary on the redevelopment and renewal of Decatur during the past 40 years.

Walt Drake is a long-time resident of Decatur, and the senior partner of McCurdy & Candler law firm in Decatur. He served two terms on the Decatur City Commission, and two terms as Mayor of Decatur in the 1970s. He was the youngest Mayor in Decatur’s history at age 30.

Over the years he has been active in numerous Decatur organizations, and currently serves as a Trustee of Agnes Scott College and of Columbia Theological Seminary. He is also a Director of Decatur First Bank, and a Director of the Decatur Education Foundation. He lectures frequently on Decatur topics, and is working on a history of Decatur from 1900 to 1999. He is a graduate of Davidson College and of the University of Virginia School of Law.

The lecture is Tuesday, September 21 at 12:00 noon at the Old Courthouse on the Square and is free of charge. Guests are encouraged to bring a lunch to eat during the program.

The latest DeKalb History Center “Chomp and Think” – I mean “Lunch and Learn” – on Wednesday, July 28th looks west to the sizably large hamlet of Kirkwood.  From DHC’s executive director Melissa Forgey…

The DeKalb History Center’s Lunch and Learn Lecture Series continues in July with a presentation by Joe Alcock, AIA, LEED AP, will explain how Kirkwood, once a booming little city, was destined to compete with its neighbor to the east.

It was a railroad hub, a center for industry and a thriving residential community. He will cover its early history, the devastation from the Civil War, a rocky incorporation, the leadership that brought it into existence and its fall from memory. Joe will also address the initial and progressive plans for its urban infrastructure and development patterns from 1900. He will conclude with present planning and preservation efforts.

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Executive Director of the DeKalb History Center, Melissa Forgey, sends along this announcement…

The DeKalb History Center will host a new Temporary Exhibit on the historic Mt. Zion Community. This project has been a focus for students from the Arbor Montessori School for several years and builds on their work and oral interviews of residents from this community. The DeKalb History Center also received assistance from Commissioner Jeff Rader to conduct research in the community.

The Mt. Zion community is a small African-American enclave located on the northeast side of LaVista Road, and was settled in the 1800s. During the 20th century, the community changed from family farms to a suburban landscape which caused a large portion of the community’s African-American population to move away in the 1940s and 50s and then again in the 1980s and 90s. The community remained close-knit during these times of change and retains its cultural heritage today.

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