Flat Rock Archives
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The Flat Rock Archive is an African American historical museum located in the city of
Stonecrest, Georgia Stonecrest is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The boundaries of the city generally lie in the far southeastern corner of the county, with a smaller portion just north of Interstate 20 in Georgia, Interstate 20. The city borders ...
. The mission of the archive is to preserve rural African American history in Georgia. The archive is located in a historic home built by T.A. Bryant, Sr., and was donated in 2005, by Rev. T.A. Bryant, Jr. and his sister, Zudia Guthrie, to preserve and store all the Flat Rock records and documents. It was established as a museum and resource to genealogical and historical research, as well as a heritage tourism site. The Flat Rock Archives consists of a variety of historic sites, including the Flat Rock African American Historic Cemetery. All of these sites are located within the
Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area Arabia Mountain, a part of Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, is the northern of two peaks in the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, in DeKalb County, Georgia. A low saddle separates it from Bradley Mountain, several hundred feet to ...
. See
Flat Rock, Georgia Flat Rock is a historic African American community in DeKalb County, Georgia. It is located within the city of Stonecrest, Georgia, Stonecrest, as well as the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area. Flat Rock is believed to be one of the oldest Af ...
to learn more about the history of this area.


History

Since 1981, inspired by the stories of elders, a vision emerged to preserve the
African-American history African-American history started with the forced transportation of List of ethnic groups of Africa, Africans to North America in the 16th and 17th centuries. The European colonization of the Americas, and the resulting Atlantic slave trade, ...
of the Flat Rock community. In December 2006, the Flat Rock Archives opened to the public. Cheryl Moore-Mathis is the current President of the archive. In 2006, the Flat Rock Archives was part of a segment on ''
African American Lives ''African American Lives'' is an American television miniseries hosted by historian Henry Louis Gates Jr., focusing on African Americans, African American genealogical research. The family histories of prominent people of African American descent ...
'', episode "Listening to our Past" featuring
Chris Tucker Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series '' Def Comedy Jam'', where he frequently appeared on the show during the 1990 ...
.


The Flat Rock Archives Goal of Preserving Memories

One goal of the Flat Rock Archives is to preserve the memories of the Flat Rock community. President of the archive, Cheryl Mathis-Moore wants the sounds, memories, and stories to be preserved and heard for generations to come. In an
Atlanta Journal Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...
article from 2005, Cleveland McMullen (aged 83 at the time) shared that he grew up in Flat Rock and joined the exodus of thousands of Southern blacks who fled to the North during the Great Depression to find jobs in factories and escape enforced segregation. He recalled that Flat Rock had its own "scout" team (baseball), which played rivals from nearby communities, such as Lithonia, and, toward Atlanta, Edgewood. But McMullen can't recall the team name of the home nine; it was just that "it was a big deal, people came from all over. They'd have a barbecue, make a whole day of it."


The Flat Rock Historical Landscape

The Archive sits within a historical landscape and currently maintains 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. The historical landscape also includes the Historical African American Flat Rock Cemetery. According to Dr. Jeffrey Glover of
Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...
's 2008 cemetery mapping project, there are approximately 202 graves, with 107 being unidentified fieldstones.


Community outreach

The Flat Rock Archive is collecting and preserving a wide range of archival material, including genealogical records, newspaper articles, photographs, maps, church records, school records, rare books, and tangible artifacts related to African-American history in the rural South. In 2010, the Flat Rock Archives worked with
Arabia Mountain High School Arabia Mountain High School Academy of Engineering Medicine and Environmental Studies is located on the edge of the Arabia Mountain green space in Stonecrest, Georgia, United States, with a Lithonia post office address. This public high school ...
to perform an honorary school graduation ceremony for eight African American elders of the Flat Rock community who were in their 70s, 80s and 90s. The students all attended Flat Rock School in the 1930s and 1940s, a time when there was such hostility to educating blacks. The students were given honorary high school diplomas from the DeKalb County school system because during the time they were in school the county did not give high school diplomas to blacks. The Archive also maintains the Historic African American Flat Rock Cemetery.


References


External links

* {{Coord, 33, 39, 53.4, N, 84, 9, 42.4, W, display=title 2006 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) African-American museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Museums established in 2006 Museums in DeKalb County, Georgia Stonecrest, Georgia