Georgia Closes State Archives to the Public?

The sounds of "With a rebel yell, she cried more, more, more" are resounding in the streets and mailboxes of genealogists and family history seekers everywhere. Without our past, we have no future.  Step up and save the Georgia Archives for the public.  Don't let Georgia be the ONLY state in the union with no public access and extremely limited private access!

How can the Secretary of State Brian Kemp close the Georgia State Archives to the public?  And this is in the same week that Governor Nathan Deal proclaimed October as Georgia Archives Month.

There is much to read on this subject.  The best way to do so is to follow along with the Friends of the Georgia Archives as they spearhead the fight to save the archives.



Below is the call to battle from the Friends of Georgia Archives and History:

ACTION ALERT: SAVE THE GEORGIA ARCHIVES!
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp has announced that the Georgia Archives will be CLOSED to all public access beginning November 1, 2012. He cites as reason the requirement for a 3 % budget reduction for all state agencies. Secretary Kemp has chosen to take the required cut of $750,000 entirely and only from the State Archives. In addition to the elimination of public access, staff reductions concerning the ten remaining staff are planned and will also be announced soon.

This action further cripples an institution that was among the first state archives established (1918), has won many awards for its programs and state-of-the-art archival facility, and has been a respected leader in archives, government records programs, and research use. Over the past decade, however, the Georgia Archives has been eviscerated by regular budget cuts, reductions in staff and reductions in public hours to 2 days a week. Now Secretary Kemp wants to eliminate even those few hours of access for Georgia’s citizens, making Georgia Archives the only state archives without public access hours.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Tell the Governor, the Secretary of State and the Georgia Legislature to reverse this devastating decision. Write, call or visit and ask them to:

Restore a minimum of $1 million to the Georgia Archives budget to return its operations to 5 days a week of public access hours and eliminate projected staff reductions.

Reverse the Secretary of State’s proposed budget cuts to the Archives by November 1 to ensure uninterrupted service to the public.

When you write/call or visit, focus on a few of the points below. Put this in your own words, and use your own examples, particularly if you are a citizen of Georgia:

WHAT SHOULD YOU SAY?
Points to make in letters/phone calls or visits:

1. The Secretary of State was directed to reduce his budget expenditures by 3%. The entire sum needed to accomplish that has been taken from the Archives budget alone and will result in the termination of all public hours. The proposed “access by appointment…limited based on the schedule of the remaining employees” effectively denies access based on “reasonable time and place” for inspection of public records as required by Georgia law.

2. Points to make regarding the importance of access to government records for accountability and legal purposes:
• This deprives citizens of regular and predictable access, as mandated in the Georgia Records Act, Title 50, Chapter 18, Article 4, section 70(b) of the Georgia Annotated Code that all public records “shall be open for a personal inspection by any citizen of this state at a reasonable time and place, and those in charge of such records shall not refuse this privilege to any citizen.”
• It is contrary to the practice of government transparency by depriving citizens of predictable and ready access to the records that are essential to providing evidence of government accountability.
• It deprives citizens, as well as Georgia’s own government, of access to records needed to support due process of law. The Georgia Archives holdings have been used for a range of court cases including land claims, boundary disputes, utility right-of-way, and claims against state agencies.
• Access to records is essential to avoid costly litigation that will result if records cannot be located or accessed.

3. Points to make regarding the importance of access to government records for research
purposes:
• As the Civil War Sesquicentennial begins, researchers need access to the historical record in the Georgia Archives to provide accurate, factual evidence of that experience. Many of Georgia’s governmental records were destroyed during Sherman’s March; closing the Archives similarly deprives Georgians of access to their heritage—but this time the fault does not lie with an invading army, but with Georgia officials themselves.
• The Georgia Archives holds records actively sought by genealogists and family historians; in particular, they provide essential evidence for African-American history and genealogical research not available in many private historical collections.
• The Georgia Archives has been an essential resource for environmental research and activities including efforts to reintroduce the American chestnut tree in the state and issues relating to pollution.
• The Georgia Archives has been the site of research for television and films, including the popular NBC series “Who Do You Think You Are” segments with Paula Deen and Spike Lee, as well as Emmy award-winner Ben Loeterman’s documentary “People v. Leo Frank.”

Governor Nathan Deal
206 Washington Street Suite 203, State Capitol Atlanta, GA 30334
Phone: 404-656-1776

Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle
240 State Capitol Atlanta, GA 30334 TEL: 404-656-5030 FAX: 404-656-6739

Secretary of State Brian Kemp
214 State Capitol Atlanta, GA 30334 Phone: 404-656-2881 Fax: 404-656-0513

Individual Georgia legislators: find specific legislators via Society of Georgia Archivists site: http://soga.org/involvement/legislative

If you’ve signed an online petition, that’s helpful, but direct contact is even more effective. For Georgians, a visit to your local legislator will have even more impact. There has been a great deal of attention on radio, newspapers, television and the Internet. In a democracy, however, nothing speaks to the governor or elected officials like direct contact from individuals. Speak up for the Georgia Archives.

Write, call or plan a visit today!
Please send copies of your letter, information on contacts, or any questions to:
Coalition to Preserve the Georgia Archives Co-Chair Kaye L. Minchew: kaye@trouparchives.org

THE COALITION TO PRESERVE THE GEORGIA ARCHIVES
Includes representatives of:
Friends of the Georgia Archives; Association of County Commissioners of Georgia; Georgia Salzburger Society, Greater Atlanta Chapter; Society of Georgia Archivists; Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board; Georgia Genealogical Society; Georgia Professional Genealogists; Association of Professional Genealogists, Georgia Chapter; Cobb County Genealogical Society; Troup County Historical Society; Georgia State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution

For updated information go to: www.FOGAH.org

UGA celebrates Historic Preservation Month in April

The College of Environment and Design’s Graduate Historic Preservation program will celebrate National Historic Preservation Month in April with campus activities including exhibitions, a barbeque, lectures and a historic landscape tour. The events will involve faculty, students, staff, the Student Historic Preservation Organization and the Honor Society of Sigma Pi Kappa.

The April observance aims to raise awareness of preservation within the larger university community and the Athens-Clarke County area and recognize the significance of the historic resources located both on and off campus. The entire university community and the greater Athens community are invited to participate in the different events.

The exhibition “Sustainable Preservation and Historic Landscapes” will be on display in the Main Library lobby, April 1-30. Two exhibitions will be on display in Caldwell Hall, April 3-30. “If Walls Could Talk: Then and Now at UGA,” will be at the Owens Library and “Orr 2: Interpreting the Legacy,” an artistic interpretation of Fred J. Orr’s architecture by Rene Shoemaker, will be at Circle Gallery located in G14 Caldwell Hall. The public is invited to an opening reception for the Orr 2 exhibition, April 3 from 4-7 p.m.

Suzanne Turner will present a lecture on “The Value of Historic Landscapes,” April 17 at 2:30 p.m. in the UGA Chapel. The event is free and open to the public. The SHPO also will host a preservation month speaker in April. See the master calendar for speaker time, and location. In conjunction with the college’s annual alumni meeting, April 17-18, activities on April 17 include:

- The annual Sigma Pi Kappa Preservation Month BBQ will be held at noon in Founders Memorial Garden. Tickets are $7.00 and reservations can be made via email at donnag@uga.edu.

- Sigma Pi Kappa will hold its induction ceremony at 11 a.m. in the Lumpkin House.

- Lindsey Kerr and Janine Duncan will conduct a historic landscape tour at 4 p.m. beginning in the Founders Memorial Garden and crossing North Campus to Old Athens Cemetery. This tour is limited to 20 participants. Reservations can be made via email at lkerr@uga.edu.

- Moving Midway, a documentary of plantation house relocation, will be shown at 8 p.m. in the garden.

In a cooperative effort with Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, Hands-on-Athens, April 3-5, is included as part of the college’s Preservation Month activities. SHPO will be one of the house sponsors, providing volunteers for repair and rehabilitation.

While the national observance of Historic Preservation began in 1971, under the sponsorship of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, UGA’s participation in this annual observance began in 1983 with 2009 being the 26th year of participation.

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UGA to Celebrate Women’s History Month

In recognition of the 2009 national Women’s History Month theme “Women: Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet,” the University of Georgia Institute for Women’s Studies will be sponsoring several events, including films and lectures, in March.

For the month’s keynote event on March 20-21, IWS will host a symposium in honor of the late Australian philosopher Val Plumwood, a leading contributor in the development of ecofeminism and radical environmental philosophy. Titled “Environmental Justice and Ecofeminism: Ethical Complexity in Action” the symposium will bring together prominent theorists, activists and community members working on issues and questions that are deeply social and ecological.

The symposium will open with an afternoon keynote address on Friday, March 20, sponsored by the Willson Centerfor Humanities and Arts, in the Coverdell Building by feminist ethicist and animal rights activist Lori Gruen, associate professor at Wesleyan University, and will continue on Saturday with sessions at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.

Invited speakers include Teri Blanton, a fellow with Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, who concentrates on the campaign to end mountaintop removal mining in eastern Kentucky and helps create a sustainable and survivable energy future; and Jamie Baker Roskie, managing attorney of the UGA Land Use Clinic, who will focus on the community of Newtown in Gainesville, Ga., where residents have been fighting exposure to toxic chemicals since the 1990s.

The conference also will feature panel discussions by faculty members from UGA. Papers from the conference will be collected in a special issue of the journal Ethics and the Environment.

Friday’s events will be held at the Coverdell Center and Saturday’s events will be at the Callaway Building in the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. There is no registration fee for the conference and all meals are included. For the full schedule and details, see www.uga.edu/iws.

Other events include the Women’s History Month film festival; an evening of spoken word and music with Aralee Strange, a local Athens artist, and Laurie Stone from New York City, at Flicker Bar & Theatre on Tuesday, March 3; a lecture on “The Sexual Politics of Meat” by Carol Adams on Wednesday, March 4; and a panel discussion “Food is a Feminist Issue: Gardens, Farms and Local Markets” on Tuesday, March 31.

For a complete list of Women’s History Month events see www.uga.edu/iws, and click on “events.” The Institute for Women’s Studies is a unit of UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences that brings together multidisciplinary perspectives on women and gender from across all schools and colleges at UGA.

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Governor Perdue Proclaims November as American Indian Heritage Month

Governor Sonny Perdue recently signed a proclamation declaring November as American Indian Heritage Month in Georgia. On hand to witness the proclamation were Georgia State Society Daughters of the American Revolution State Anerican Indian Chairman Carolyn Balog (l) and Georgia State Society Daughters of the American Revolution Regent, Barbara Chastain (r).


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National American Indian Heritage Month

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. - Cherokee

November is a time of excitement as Americans vote in our National Election, and plan for the upcoming feast on Thanksgiving. How many Americans take the time to stop and reflect on the first Americans? How many of us take the time to learn more about these Americans?

What do you think of when you hear American Indian? Do you think of the early western films so popular in our culture 50 years ago? Does it conjure up visions of war whoops while attacking white settlers? Do you remember the Trail of Tears when the Cherokee Indians were forced to leave Georgia? Does it remind you of the valor of these men who understood the need to fight for honor, land and country during World War II? Perhaps, you think of a young maiden named Pocahontas of whom legends are still passed down? What an impact Pocahontas and other brave Native Americans had.

November is National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month. This celebration of our tribal nations first began at the turn of the 20th century with the Boy Scouts.

In 1915, a formal proclamation was made by the Rev. Sheraman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, to celebrate the contributions of America's first residents and called for their recognition as American citizens.

It wasn't until 1990 when President Bush signed the proclamation for National American Indian Heritage Month that it became a national celebration. Take time to learn more about the first Americans and their contributions to our way of life today. Take the time to understand the sacrifices they have made in the name of America.

Fayette Front Page Staff Report

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