Where should a person go to learn about the history of African American life in Atlanta? The Atlanta History Center, of course.

Paul Crater from the Atlanta History Center will inform patrons about all that the Kenan Research Center has to offer about African Americans in Atlanta and surrounding areas. Mr. Crater will focus on how the collection documents African American life in Atlanta, in politics; civil rights; business; criminal justice; sports; as well as life for enslaved African Americans before and during the Civil War. You will also learn how to access these materials and digital samples from the collection.

Paul Crater is Vice President of Collections and Research Services at the Atlanta History Center. He manages the Kenan Research Center, a center for the study of Atlanta and southern regional history and culture. He is the author of three photography books on the history of Atlanta, including Baseball in Atlanta, World War II in Atlanta, and co-author of Lost Atlanta, published in 2015. He is the curator of Voices Across the Color Line, an award-winning exhibition of the Atlanta Student Movement that appeared at the Atlanta History Center in 2010. In 2014, The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Southeast Chapter awarded him an Emmy for his contribution in the development of 37 Weeks: Sherman on the March, which aired on Georgia Public Broadcasting. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Georgia State University.

Celebrating African-American History is sponsored by FCPL Friends & Advocates.