Memories

Vanishing Georgia contains nearly 18,000 photographs from the Georgia Archives documenting over 100 years of the state's history. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, family and business life, street scenes and architecture, agriculture, school and civic activities, important individuals and events in Georgia history, and landscapes.

This collection is easy to search. There is the basic search box and an advanced search page.

Using the basic search, I looked for 'Blacks' and retrieved over 400 pictures. 'African American' retrieved over 300 images. 'African American' would be a focused search. 'Blacks' brought up people, locations, and items that have nothing to do with Black History.

The fun search began on the Advanced search page using 'African American' as the subject and selecting a random family name that is notable in Georgia as the keyword.

There are some wonderful group pictures of African American families in Georgia. The group pictures of families standing by their car during a vacation are priceless.

The portraits of African Americans in the late 1800's are just like portraits you see of Caucasians from the late 1800's. People who wanted to, and could afford to, have a formal portrait taken are very similar in social stature, no matter the race.

Wander through the collection and compare your family pictures with those preserved by the Digital Library of Georgia. Families are families!



-kss