Milledgeville presentation traces Black history from early settlement to local institutions

Latonya Howell presented "From Chains to Changes," a historical overview of MilledgevilleBlack history, to the Board of Commissioners, highlighting the city's founding, antebellum and Reconstruction-era developments, and the growth of Black institutions and businesses.

Howell traced the town's founding after land cessions by the Creek in the early 1800s and noted Milledgeville served as Georgiacapital beginning in 1804. She described the rise of the cotton economy and the growth of an enslaved population, citing 1828 population figures that included 783 enslaved people. Howell identified historic sites and institutions important to the African American community, including Hamp Brown (Hamp Brown Bottom), Memory Hill Cemetery (established 1810), Bone Cemetery, Eddie (Eddy) School (founded with Freedmen's Bureau support in the post-Civil War era), and local Black-owned businesses and fraternal organizations such as the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows.

Howell named local leaders and institutions such as Dr. B. J. Simmons (Milledgeville's first African American physician), Sally Ellis Davis (teacher and long-time principal associated with the Eddy School; her home at 301 South Clark Street is a historical landmark), Slater's Funeral Home, and the Black business district historically known as "The Strip." She also recounted community efforts to rebuild schools after fires and fund local institutions.

Howell spoke without requesting formal action; her presentation served as a historical briefing to the commission during the meeting's presentations section.

Ending

The presentation concluded with a call to remember and preserve local Black history through monuments and continued community recognition; the commission moved on to regular business following the presentation.