Newspaper Page Text
Page 6A, The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Stockade Girls of Leesburg
Special to the Ledger
The Civil Rights
movement had many
historic locations a bus
in Montgomery, a bridge
in Selma, the steps of
the Lincoln Memorial
in Washington, DC, a
church on 16th Street
in Birmingham. Here
in Leesburg there is an
old stockade that played
an important part in the
Civil Rights movement
in Southwest Georgia.
In the summer of 1963
a group of teenage girls
were held in the Lees
burg Stockade for several
weeks. The Student Non
Violent Coordinating
Commissin (SNCC) and
the National Associa
tion for the Advance
ment of Colored People
(NAACP) organized a
protest march in Amer-
icus, Georgia in July,
1963. Marching from
Friendship Baptist
Church to a segregat
ed movie theater the
young ladies who would
become the “Stock
ade Girls” lined up to
purchase movie tickets.
Suddenly the police in
tervened and many of the
marchers were arrested
including several teenage
girls between the ages
of 12 and 15. Initially
the girls were taken to
Dawson where they
spent one night. The next
day the girls were moved
to the Leesburg Stock
ade. The girls were held
in a common cell that
had no air conditioning,
only one toilet that did
not work, and a single
shower head. The girls’
parents did not know
about their arrest or
where they were impris
oned. Poorly fed and held
in intolerable conditions
the young ladies perse
vered. Eventually, Danny
Lyon, a 21 year pho
tographer with SNCC,
was able to take several
photos of the girls in the
stockade documenting
the terrible conditions
in which they were held.
The photos were instur-
mental in securing the
girls’ release. The girls
were able to go home in
September, 1963. They
were never charged with
a crime. Many did not
know their story or why
they missed the start
of school that year. But
the young ladies who
came to be known as the
“Missing Girls” over
came what happened at
the Leesburg Stockade.
They went on to live
rich and full lives, many
are still with us today.
Like any building, it is
not the structure but the
story of the people and
what happened there that
make the place special.
The Leesburg Stock
ade stands today as a
kind of memorial to the
sacrifice and suffering
of those who fought the
good fight, who took a
stand against wrong. It
is a lasting monument to
the foundational truths
that make America the
home of the brave and
the land of the free. This
Friday, September 27,
the Georgia Historical
Society will erect a
Historic Marker at the
Leesburg Stockade. A
dedication ceremony will
take place at 9:30 AM
at the Stockade which is
located in Leesburg on
Leslie Highway. Please
join us for the ceremony
as we gather to honor
these brave women and
dedicate a memorial to
this historic place.
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Submitted Photo
Lee County Ninth Grade Campus students from Ms. Smoak’s, Mrs.
Emerson’s, and Mrs. Powell’s classes visited Colony Bank on Ledo
Road to learn about banks and the different jobs of bank employees.
Students also enjoyed some delicious snacks and drinks provided by
the bank. Many thanks to Colony Bank for such an enjoyable learning
experience.
Andrew J. Wulf, Ph.d., Named Albany
Museum Of Art Executive Director
Special to the Ledger
The Albany Museum
of Art Board of Trustees
is proud to announce
that Andrew James
Wulf, Ph.D., of Santa Fe,
N.M., has been named
executive director of the
museum.
Wulf, who was selected
after the AMA conduct-
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ed a national search,
will assume the position
in early October and is
expected to attend the
museum’s major fall
fundraising event, AMA
ChalkFest, on Saturday,
Oct 5. He succeeds Paula
Williams, who retired
June 30 after serving
five years as executive
director.
Wulf will be intro
duced to the Albany
community on Thurs
day, Oct 17 at the AMA’s
Autumn Exhibitions
Reception.
Jack Davis, president
of the AMA Board
of Trustees, said he is
pleased that Wulf will
be leading the museum,
which is in the early
stages of the move to its
new home in downtown
Albany.
“We have a tremendous
opportunity in front of
us, and Dr. Wulf has the
expertise, passion and
experience to lead us
through this next chap
ter,” Davis said. “Just
as importantly, Andrew
values family and peo
ple, and he will connect
with Albany, Georgia.”
Wulf, who most recent
ly served as executive
director of the New
Mexico History Museum
and the Palace of the
Governors in Santa Fe,
N.M., thanked Davis
and the board for the
appointment. He said he
is looking forward to the
opportunity to lead the
museum during a trans
formational period.
“I see the AMA, now
and in the future, as a
beacon for modern and
contemporary art, and
for African art—not
only for Georgia, but
for the world,” he said.
“I think there is an
extremely bright future
for the AMA and I am
deeply humbled to be
steering this extraordi
nary institution down
that road.
“I’ve been delighted to
visit Albany and I can’t
wait to start this new ad
venture, working with a
marvelous museum and
its wonderful staff and
board. It’s really a dream
come true for me to
return to my art museum
roots at such a special in
stitution that has done so
much promising work.”
Wulf served at the New
Mexico History Museum
and the Palace of the
Governors, a division of
the New Mexico Depart
ment of Cultural Affairs,
in Santa Fe, N.M., from
2015-2019.
A graduate of the Getty
Leadership Institute
Executive Education
Program for Museum
Leaders, Wulf earned his
Ph.D. from the School
of Museum Studies,
University of Leicester,
United Kingdom. He
holds an M.A. in Art
History and Museum
Studies from USC;
Graduate Certificates in
The Arts of Late Medi
eval and Early Renais
sance Europe, and The
Visual Arts in Europe:
1720-1920, from Victo
ria and Albert Museum,
London; an M.A. in
Expressive Arts Therapy
from Lesley University;
an M.A. in English (Po
etry) from the University
of New Hampshire, and
a B.A. in International
Relations/French Litera
ture from the University
of Southern California.