Claire Haley

Civic Season is a nationwide celebration spanning Juneteenth to July 4th that encourages historically-informed civic engagement by the inheritors of our democracy. Atlanta History Center is a founding partner of the Made By Us coalition, the organizer of Civic Season. Read on for suggestions about how to get involved in Civic Season.

On October 23, 2024, the US Navy announced that after twenty-five years, a ship commissioned the USS Atlanta will once again sail the seas of the world. The last USS Atlanta, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, was retired in 1999, the fifth such ship to bear the name of the city.

How did the world’s largest Confederate monument end up outside of Atlanta? What should be done, if anything, with it? With these questions in mind, Atlanta History Center explores the controversial history through online resources and an upcoming documentary.

Drawn to beautiful clothes and unique designs early in life, Ann Moore pursued a career in couture fashion during a time when the profession, always competitive, was especially out of reach for African Americans. Her hard work and determination carried her from Atlanta to Detroit as well as to the most exclusive fashion locales in New York and Paris. 30 of her pieces are housed in Atlanta History Museum’s extensive Fashion and Textile collections.

On April 10, 1972, Smith Farm opened to the public in a highly publicized event during Atlanta’s Dogwood Festival. A unique project, especially in its time, Smith Farm attracted widespread media attention in both local and national press. 50 years later, Smith Farm is many things: historical time machine to discussing Georgia before, during, and after the Civil War for people both enslaved and free, a story of historic preservation and women’s volunteer efforts, and most of all, an educational cornerstone of the Southeast’s largest history museum.

The Consul General of Mexico, Javier Díaz de León met with Atlanta History Center to discuss the meaning and traditions behind Dia de Los Muertos and future plans for the holiday.

Delve into Hollywood’s portrayal of the South and its cultural impact with this list of highly impactful films that worked to critique, contextualize, or convolute the South’s complicated history.

This summer, along with history and civics organizations across the country, we invite you to join in a program dedicated to the Civic Season.

Preserving history is never easy—it’s a complicated decision whether to leave fragile historical artifacts in place, or to move them for preservation and public access.

Throughout its history, the small city of Clarkston, Georgia, has remained just that: a small city. What has changed— dramatically— is the makeup of Clarkston’s population.