William H. Scott Exhibition Opens Jan. 23 at Emory

An exhibition on the papers and personal effects of an African American leader who brought early attention to the issue of civil rights will open at Emory University’s Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (MARBL) Friday, Jan. 23.

"Slave, Soldier, Citizen: The Journey of William Henry Scott," an exhibition by Randall K. Burkett, curator of African American Collections, will be in display in MARBL Jan. 23-Aug. 8. A public opening and reception is scheduled 1:30-3:30 p.m. in MARBL.

Following the opening will be an address by Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP, at 4 p.m. in Cannon Chapel, part of the King Week celebration at Emory Jan. 19-27.

Witnessed Civil War

Scott (1848-1910) grew up in Virginia in his master’s house and didn’t realize he was a slave until he was eight years old. He immediately began plotting his escape and found an opportunity in 1862, when Union troops moved into the area. Major Loring Muzzey of the 12th Massachusetts Regiment was looking for a bright young slave to educate, and he and the regiment took Scott under their wing. Scott spent three and a half years as Muzzey’s aide-de-camp, witnessing some of the worst battles of the Civil War.

Scott became a teacher, owned a bookstore in Washington, D.C., and was ordained a Baptist minister. Politically active throughout his adult life, he founded the Massachusetts Racial Protective League in 1896 and was one of the 29 original members of the Niagara Movement, the predecessor of the NAACP.

"As a teacher, historian, preacher and political activist, he was a fearless advocate for full citizenship rights at a time when, increasingly, those rights were being crushed by Northern indifference and Southern intransigence," says Burkett.

Highlights

The exhibition encompasses photographs, sermon manuscripts, broadsides and pamphlets documenting all aspects of Scott’s life, including

A sword Scott snatched from a dead Confederate officer during a lull in the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Recordings of Scott’s sermons read by the Rev. C. T. Vivian, one of Atlanta’s eminent civil rights leaders.
Tintypes and photographs including a portrait of Muzzey, a photo of young Scott in his Union uniform and many family portraits.

Scott’s achievements came to light when one of Burkett’s students in Massachusetts wrote his senior thesis about the original members of the Niagara Movement and located Scott’s grandson, Henry T. Scott. The grandson bequeathed the family papers to Burkett with the request that his grandfather’s story be brought to public attention.

The exhibition is free and open to the public during normal library hours. MARBL is located on the 10th floor of the Woodruff Library on the Emory University campus, 540 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322, marbl@emory.edu, 404-727-6887. Cannon Chapel is located at 515 Kilgo Circle on the Emory campus.

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Arts Across Georgia

Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea

For the Civil War in particular and American history in general, there are few more powerfully evocative events than Sherman's March to the Sea. To this day Sherman is still remembered as both a savior of the Union and as an unprosecuted war criminal. Why?

The Georgia Historical Society invites you to attend a free lecture by award-winning Civil War historian Noah Andre Trudeau.

The lecture will be held on Thursday, August 14, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at Congregation Mickve Israel, 20 E. Gordon Street, on Monterey Square in downtown Savannah.

Copies of Trudeau's book Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea will be available for sale and a book-signing will follow the lecture.

Drawing on Research conducted at the Georgia Historical Society, Trudeau has written a fascinating new account of United States Army General William Tecumseh Sherman's epic march-a targeted strategy aimed to break not only the Confederate Army but an entire society as well. In vivid detail, Trudeau explains why General Sherman's name is still anathema below the Mason-Dixon Line, especially in Georgia...

The Georgia Historical Society, headquartered in Savannah, is the oldest cultural institution in the state and one of the oldest historical organizations in the nation. It is the first and only statewide historical society in Georgia. For nearly 175 years, GHS has collected, preserved, and shared Georgia history through a variety of educational outreach programs, publications, and research services. For more information visit: www.georgiahistory.com.

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