About this Event
As part of Roswell Roots month long celebration of Black History Month, Atlanta Authors is presenting Michael L. Thurmond, discussing his latest book, James Oglethorpe, Father of Georgia on Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest Street in Roswell. There is no charge to attend, but registration is required. This event is LIVE only.
Michael L. Thurmond's latest book uses more than two decades of meticulous research, fresh historical analysis, and compelling storytelling to rewrite the prehistory of abolitionism and add an important new chapter to Georgia’s origin story.
Founded by James Oglethorpe on February 12, 1733, the Georgia colony was envisioned as a unique social welfare experiment. Administered by twenty-one original trustees, the Georgia Plan offered England’s “worthy poor” and persecuted Christians an opportunity to achieve financial security in the New World by exporting goods produced on small farms. Most significantly, Oglethorpe and his fellow Trustees were convinced that economic vitality could not be achieved through the exploitation of enslaved Black laborers.
Due primarily to Oglethorpe’s strident advocacy, Georgia was the only British American colony to prohibit chattel slavery before the American Revolutionary War. His outspoken opposition to the transatlantic slave trade distinguished Oglethorpe from British colonial America’s more celebrated founding fathers.
James Oglethorpe, Father of Georgia uncovers how Oglethorpe's philosophical and moral evolution from slave trader to abolitionist was propelled by his intellectual relationships with two formerly enslaved Black men. Oglethorpe’s unique “friendships” with Ayuba Suleiman Diallo and Olaudah Equiano, two of eighteenth-century England’s most influential Black men, are little-known examples of interracial antislavery activism that breathed life into the formal abolitionist movement.
MICHAEL L. THURMOND is the chief executive officer of DeKalb County, Georgia (through 2024). He is the author of James Oglethorpe, Father of Georgia, Freedom: Georgia’s Antislavery Heritage, 1733–1865, and A Story Untold: Black Men and Women in Athens History. Thurmond has previously served in the Georgia legislature, as director of Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services, Georgia labor commissioner, and as superintendent of DeKalb schools. In 1997, Thurmond became a distinguished lecturer at the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. He lives in Stone Mountain, Georgia.
Roswell Roots is a community-wide, month-long festival that honors our diverse community and celebrates Black History Month. Roswell Roots aims to educate, impact, and promote cultural awareness. Find more at www.RoswellRoots.com
To purchase autographed copies, contact Bookmiser Book Store at 770-509-5611 or Bookmiser.net. Bookmiser is a partner in planning this event and will be onsite for book sales and signing at the event.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest Street, Roswell, United States
USD 0.00
