Augusta Public Library Local History and Genealogy

Now that the holidays are over take some time to brush up on your knowledge of southern history, and meet local author, historian, and president of Cranston Engineering Group, Tom Robertson as he joins us for a presentation on his first full length publication, RESISTING SHERMAN: A CONFEDERATE SURGEON’S JOURNAL AND THE CIVIL WAR IN THE CAROLINAS, 1865.
The event will take place in the auditorium of the main library at 823 Telfair Street on Tuesday, January 26th at 6:30 pm, and is free to the public. A book signing will follow the presentation.

The Augusta University Libraries invite you to attend author and illustrator Lila Quintero Weaver’s book talk on her illustrated memoir, Darkroom, on Tuesday, January 19, 2016, 6 pm, at the Augusta-Richmond County Public Library, 823 Telfair Street in downtown Augusta. This event is free, bilingual, and open to the public. Copies of Darkroom will be available for purchase and signing following the talk.

Quintero Weaver will also lead a free graphic novel workshop for youth between the ages of 13 and 17 on Wednesday, January 20, 6 pm, at the Columbia County Library, 7022 Evans Town Center Boulevard in Evans. Though the event is free, registration is required as space is limited (we still have plenty of spaces right now, so it is not too late!). Register online or by calling Erin Prentiss at 706-667-4912.

Using an engaging graphic novel format, Darkroom tells Quintero Weaver’s story of growing up in an Argentine-American family in Alabama during the civil rights movement. Library Journal praised Weaver’s Darkroom as “a moving testimony [that] provides a rarely heard voice from the turbulent past of U.S. race relations….Featuring graceful and realistic black-and-gray art, this is recommended for students of social inequalities, teen and adult, and will be especially valuable for classrooms” (Cornog and Raiteri 70).

Learn more about Ms. Quintero Weaver’s writing and illustration process and see sample pages of the book in her article “How and Why I Wrote My Graphic Memoir.” A print copy of Darkroom is available for browsing at the Information Desk of Reese Library on Augusta University’s Summerville Campus.

The Georgia Center for the Book recently announced the 2015 list of books all Geogians should read. According to Joe Davich, director of the center, “These lists are a wonderful way for us to honor the extraordinary talent we have right here in Georgia.”

http://www.georgiacenterforthebook.org/Read-Georgia-Books/index.php

Don’t forget to join us tomorrow, Thursday, December 3rd at 2:00 pm in Room A of the Headquarters Library auditorium as we welcome local historian and author, Wayne O’Bryant for a discussion on his timely book, IN THE FOOTPRINTS OF A GIANT: THE VESEY CONNECTION.

A Literary History of Augusta
Augusta has the honor of being the city selected to host the 2015 Georgia Literary Festival, which will run the weekend of November 6-8 on the campus of Augusta University. In celebration of the festival the Georgia Heritage Room will host an exhibit featuring local and regional writers. On display will be items such as manuscripts and photographs donated to the library and archived in our special collections; ephemera and rare books on loan from Mr. William H. Harper, who is a guest presenter at the festival and will speak on the life of Augusta writer and painter Barry Fleming.
Please visit the Georgia Heritage Room on the third floor of the Headquarters Library through November to view the exhibit. Call (706) 826-1511 for details.

In the Footprints of a Giant: The Vesey Connection
Thursday, December 3
Auditorium of Headquarters Library
2:00 pm
Award winning local author and historian Wayne O’Bryant sheds light on current events through a discussion of his book, In the Footprints of a Giant: The Vesey Connection.
In the discussion, O’Bryant will show how current events such as the “Black Lives Matter” movement and the shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina have their roots in specific events from the past, and how an understanding of these past events can lead to solutions in the present.

In the Footprints of a Giant tells the story of the larger than life figure Denmark Vesey. Vesey was one of the founding members of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston and the mastermind behind the most elaborate slave revolt plan in U. S. history. The motive fueling Vesey’s plot was an intensely burning belief that Black lives mattered! There are reasons why Emanuel AME Church was targeted for attack, there are reasons why Charlestonians responded the way they did to the attack, and there are reasons why the State and the Nation are responding to Charleston’s response the way they are. This program is free and open to the public. Call (706) 826-1511 for details.

The Augusta Civil War Symposium is happening this week. Civil War scholars from all across the county will be giving presentations at the Morris Museum of Art, the Augusta Museum of History, and Tabernacle Baptist Church. Several of the lectures are free and open to the public. See the link below.

http://www.lucycraftlaneymuseum.com/PDF/civil_war_symposium.pdf

An interesting story on Native American Ancestry

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history/2015/10/cherokee_blood_why_do_so_many_americans_believe_they_have_cherokee_ancestry.html