Flat Rock- Save our Slave Cemetery and History
Tax deductible
Save Flat Rock! We are dedicated to preserving African American Rural History in the Deep South. Our land, a symbol of our strength and sense of community over the years, is for sale and we need your help saving it. This is how you'll help preserve this rich history, right outside of Atlanta, Georgia!
How You Will Help:
- Purchasing the land around the Flat Rock Archive that wraps around the area to further protect this land
- Building a brand new Welcome Center to foster more educational and community events
- Crafting educational workshops, virtual education experiences, videos for students
- Purchasing books on rural African American history for local schools and students
- Restoring the slave cemeteries in the area
During the Reconstruction Era, it was difficult for African Americans to own land.
Flat Rock resident, T.A. Bryant Sr. saw the need to keep the community together by encouraging others to stay in Flat Rock. He purchased 21 acres in 1925 for $600, and purchased another 24 acres in 1945. He was determined to sell the land in pieces to family members and others so they could stay in the area to this day. He wanted African American people to have stake in the South, a reason to stay, "'cause they were not going to own property in Pittsburgh, Detroit or Cincinnati, in Philadelphia or New York."
The community has a strong history that has persevered despite vandalism, arson, racism, the Black Codes, Jim Crow and the Great Migration.
We are still keeping his dream alive by protecting, preserving, and sharing the story of this community.
Our president Johnny Waits, a descendant of the Flat Rock founding fathers, has conducted thousands of tours of land, and visitors love the entire experience. Please help us restore and protect this unique treasure of the rural historical landscape.
About The Flat Rock Archives:
Since 1981, after a childhood of listening to the stories of his elders, Flat Rock native, Johnny Waits developed a vision to preserve the African-American history of the Flat Rock community. It was not until December 2006, that this vision came to fruition when the Flat Rock Archives officially opened to the public.
The Archives sit within an historical landscape and currently maintain the 20th century Georgian Cottage known as the T.A. Bryant, Sr. House built in 1917. The T.A. Bryant, Sr. house was donated to the Archives by T.A. Bryant, Sr.'s son and Co-Founder T.A. Bryant, Jr. The site also includes a barn, smokehouse, and outhouse constructed throughout the 20th century. We strive to collect and preserve a wide range of archival material, including genealogical records, newspaper articles, photographs, maps, church records, school records, rare books, and tangible artifacts that relate to African-American history in the rural South.
It is with great honor that the Archives has received both local and national recognition for its heritage preservation efforts through numerous awards and the honor to join the Arabia Area Heritage Alliance. Also, actor Chris Tucker, a Flat Rock community descendant was featured in the 2006 series of African American Lives featuring Dr. Henry Louis, Gates Jr. This episode is an invaluable resource to explaining Tucker's ancestry within the Flat Rock community.
See What Others Are Saying:
Learn More & Contact Us:
Join Our Membership
Visit the Flat Rock Archives Website: flatrockarchives.com/
Email Us at [email redacted]
Learn more on our Wikipedia page.
How You Will Help:
- Purchasing the land around the Flat Rock Archive that wraps around the area to further protect this land
- Building a brand new Welcome Center to foster more educational and community events
- Crafting educational workshops, virtual education experiences, videos for students
- Purchasing books on rural African American history for local schools and students
- Restoring the slave cemeteries in the area
During the Reconstruction Era, it was difficult for African Americans to own land.
Flat Rock resident, T.A. Bryant Sr. saw the need to keep the community together by encouraging others to stay in Flat Rock. He purchased 21 acres in 1925 for $600, and purchased another 24 acres in 1945. He was determined to sell the land in pieces to family members and others so they could stay in the area to this day. He wanted African American people to have stake in the South, a reason to stay, "'cause they were not going to own property in Pittsburgh, Detroit or Cincinnati, in Philadelphia or New York."
The community has a strong history that has persevered despite vandalism, arson, racism, the Black Codes, Jim Crow and the Great Migration.
We are still keeping his dream alive by protecting, preserving, and sharing the story of this community.
Our president Johnny Waits, a descendant of the Flat Rock founding fathers, has conducted thousands of tours of land, and visitors love the entire experience. Please help us restore and protect this unique treasure of the rural historical landscape.
About The Flat Rock Archives:
Since 1981, after a childhood of listening to the stories of his elders, Flat Rock native, Johnny Waits developed a vision to preserve the African-American history of the Flat Rock community. It was not until December 2006, that this vision came to fruition when the Flat Rock Archives officially opened to the public.
The Archives sit within an historical landscape and currently maintain the 20th century Georgian Cottage known as the T.A. Bryant, Sr. House built in 1917. The T.A. Bryant, Sr. house was donated to the Archives by T.A. Bryant, Sr.'s son and Co-Founder T.A. Bryant, Jr. The site also includes a barn, smokehouse, and outhouse constructed throughout the 20th century. We strive to collect and preserve a wide range of archival material, including genealogical records, newspaper articles, photographs, maps, church records, school records, rare books, and tangible artifacts that relate to African-American history in the rural South.
It is with great honor that the Archives has received both local and national recognition for its heritage preservation efforts through numerous awards and the honor to join the Arabia Area Heritage Alliance. Also, actor Chris Tucker, a Flat Rock community descendant was featured in the 2006 series of African American Lives featuring Dr. Henry Louis, Gates Jr. This episode is an invaluable resource to explaining Tucker's ancestry within the Flat Rock community.
See What Others Are Saying:
Learn More & Contact Us:
Join Our Membership
Visit the Flat Rock Archives Website: flatrockarchives.com/
Email Us at [email redacted]
Learn more on our Wikipedia page.
Organizer
Johnny Waits
Organizer
Lithonia, GA
Flat Rock Archive Inc
Beneficiary