A yearlong celebration of DeKalb County’s 200-year history is underway. Formed on Dec. 9, 1822, on land once home to Creek and Cherokee Nations, the county was named for a German-born American Revolutionary War hero, Baron Johann de Kalb.
“DeKalb’s bicentennial gives us the opportunity to literally tell our story in a more inclusive and expansive manner so we can celebrate the past and more importantly by studying the past can help us chart an even more glorious future,” said DeKalb County CEO Michael L. Thurmond.
Commemorations include a 112 feet wide by 16 feet tall mural on the side of Manuel Maloof Center in Decatur, a John Lewis statue, and improvements to DeKalb’s historic courthouse.
A proposed mural section rendering shows Native Americans, Stone Mountain, the Civil War, and the courthouse. The remaining three-quarters are likely to include Reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement, MARTA, and more.
“I especially want to develop a mural so our children of all races, colors and creeds will be able to see themselves in it,” Thurmond said. “As I look out my window, I can see the wall where it will be placed. I’m looking forward to when a yellow school bus rolls up and excited young kids will get off and use this resource to study about the men, women, boys and girls who make this such a unique place to live, work, and play.”
Cynthia Jones Parks, founder, president, and CEO of Jones Worley is curating the mural. Her firm has done similar projects, such as historical murals and panels in a Jacksonville transportation facility. Parks also has deep roots in DeKalb, where her family resides.
“I think the CEO wanted to tap into my knowledge and my passion for DeKalb,” Parks said. “My role is to put forth recommended design and content, following the CEO’s vision and timeline.”
Parks’ team reviewed history books by local historians and images from DeKalb, Atlanta, Tucker and Dunwoody history centers. They also consulted the Georgia Archives and National Archives at Atlanta.
“We wanted to look at things that were the first, the largest, and the most notable” Parks said. “You have to know the story before you can represent it visually.”
Once vetted by historians and experts, the mural will be fabricated and affixed to brick like The Coca-Cola Roxy Theatre mural at The Battery Atlanta. It will have QR codes to name the images and provide more information. Thurmond anticipates the mural will be completed by summer 2023.
Leading up to the bicentennial, the John Lewis Commemorative Task Force – led by Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson and co-chaired by Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett – secured approval for a memorial in his former congressional district. The Lewis memorial will replace a Confederate obelisk that was removed in 2020.
“John Lewis gave his life bridging the divide between races and that’s what this will represent,” Thurmond said.
Johnson and Garrett have spearheaded fundraising efforts, raising $700,000+ for the statute’s creation and installation.
“I appreciate those that have given $5 or $50,000,” Johnson said. “We’ve had hundreds of donors.”
Johnson knew Lewis personally through her husband, Rep. Hank Johnson.
“If you visited John’s D.C. office, it was like a museum of the civil rights movement,” Johnson said. “At one visit, John spoke of his encounter with a man from Alabama who beat him. He told us that he embraced the man and they both cried. Forgive your enemy, love each other, unite, discuss your differences. That was John.”
Sculptor Basil Watson, a Jamaican-born artist who came to Georgia in 2002 and created a Martin Luther King Jr. statue near Mercedes-Benz Stadium, was selected to create Lewis’ memorial.
“The statue will show John with his eyes closed in thought and his hand over his heart,” Johnson said. “He was a giant of a man with a humble heart.”
Installation is expected within 18 months.
Plans are also underway for sprucing up the historic courthouse in Decatur. First erected in 1823, the courthouse was rebuilt after fires. The 1898 Neoclassical version still stands today and welcomed the DeKalb History Center (DHC) in 1968 when the new courthouse was completed. The DHC archives library and museum housed there are open to the public.
“We have four wonderful exhibits [including 200 Years of DeKalb County Exhibit] that are free,” said Melissa Carlson, DHC Executive Director.
The bicentennial exhibit begins with Native Americans and includes the county’s jail docket that documents MLK Jr.’s arrests in 1960 plus jars of soil donated by the NAACP DeKalb to document lynching in the county.
“It’s a difficult part of history but it’s one that we really need to talk about and display,” Carlson said.
“What we do best is keep things and make them available to the public through our archives and museum. If people have family papers or photographs [DeKalb specific]– we’d love to take a look at them.”
Carlson recently met with the county architect, David Asbell, to develop a restoration wish list that includes modernizing the clockworks.
“As far as we know, those clocks date to 1898,” Carlson said. ”You have to go into the attic tiptoeing through a suspended ceiling to hand wind them. They are supposed to last a week but it’s more like four to five days.”
A powerful metaphor that the bicentennial seeks to correct and keep time.
“As someone who has devoted much of my life to the research and writing of Georgia history ,” Thurmond said. “I believe history fairly and objectively researched, written and presented can be a unifying force.”
“Through truth, understanding and mutual respect, we can help other communities recognize that you don’t have to fear the study of our history,” Thurmond continued. “We can look at who we were and how we came to be, warts and all, and emerge a better people.”
