Flat Rock Archives facts for kids
The Flat Rock Archives is a special museum in Stonecrest, Georgia, that helps save and share the history of African Americans in rural Georgia. It's located in an old house built by T.A. Bryant, Sr. His son, Rev. T.A. Bryant, Jr., and daughter, Zudia Guthrie, gave the house in 2005 so that all the important Flat Rock records and documents could be kept safe. The Archives is a place where people can learn about their family history, do research, and visit a historic site. It also includes other historic spots, like the Flat Rock African American Historic Cemetery. All these places are found within the beautiful Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area.
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How the Archives Started
Since 1981, Johnny Waits, who grew up in Flat Rock, had a dream to protect the history of African Americans in his community. He had heard many stories from his elders when he was a child. In December 2006, the Flat Rock Archives officially opened its doors to the public. The people who helped start it were T.A. Bryant, Jr., Vera Whitaker, and Johnny Waits. Today, Cheryl Moore-Mathis is the President of the Archives.
In 2006, the Flat Rock Archives was even featured on a TV show called African American Lives. It was part of an episode called "Listening to our Past," which included actor Chris Tucker.
Saving Important Memories
A big goal of the Flat Rock Archives is to keep the memories of the Flat Rock community alive. Cheryl Mathis-Moore, the President, wants the sounds, memories, and stories to be saved and heard by future generations.
In a newspaper article from 2005, Cleveland McMullen, who was 83 at the time, shared some of his memories. He grew up in Flat Rock and was one of many African Americans who moved North during a tough time called the Great Depression. People moved to find jobs in factories and to escape unfair rules that separated people based on their race. Mr. McMullen remembered that Flat Rock had its own baseball team, which played against teams from nearby towns like Lithonia. He said, "it was a big deal, people came from all over. They'd have a barbecue, make a whole day of it."
The Historic Flat Rock Area
The Archives building itself is part of a historic area. It includes the T.A. Bryant, Sr. House, which is a 20th-century Georgian Cottage built in 1917. T.A. Bryant, Sr.'s son, T.A. Bryant, Jr., who helped start the Archives, donated the house. The site also has other old buildings like a barn, a smokehouse, and an outhouse, which were built throughout the 1900s.
Another important part of this historic area is the Historical African American Flat Rock Cemetery. In 2008, a project by Dr. Jeffrey Glover from Georgia State University found about 202 graves there. About 107 of these graves are marked only by plain fieldstones, so we don't know who is buried there.
Helping the Community
The Flat Rock Archives is always busy collecting and saving many different historical items. These include family records, old newspaper articles, photographs, maps, church records, school records, rare books, and other objects that tell the story of African Americans in the rural South.
In 2010, the Flat Rock Archives worked with Arabia Mountain High School to hold a special graduation ceremony. Eight African American elders from the Flat Rock community, who were in their 70s, 80s, and 90s, received honorary high school diplomas. These students had attended Flat Rock School in the 1930s and 1940s, a time when it was very difficult for Black students to get an education. The DeKalb County school system gave them these diplomas because they had not been able to receive them when they were younger.
The DeKalb History Center is currently showing an exhibit from the Flat Rock Archives called "Deep Roots in DeKalb: The Flat Rock Story of Resilience." This exhibit displays objects collected from community members that show more than 150 years of history. It was open through 2021. An opening event was held on February 28, 2019, at the DeKalb History Center in Decatur. Many people attended, including staff from the DeKalb History Center, Flat Rock Archives, National Park Service, and the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance, as well as officials from DeKalb County and the cities of Decatur, Lithonia, and Stonecrest.
The Archives also helps take care of the Historic African American Flat Rock Cemetery.
