A Story Untold

Book excerpt: A Story Untold was born in a classroom in Clarke Central High School in 1971. An 18-year-old Michael Thurmond was a member of the first graduating class of the newly-consolidated Clarke Central, a merging of the all-black Burney-Harris High School and the predominantly-white Athens High School. It was not until the summer between college and the start of law school that Thurmond initiated his effort to document the history of the black community in Athens, a history largely unknown and unrecognized. Over the ensuing years, A Story Untold emerged and was published in 1978. Thurmond says, "We recognize that black history is American history. People of all races and colors understand that defining, documenting and sharing our history benefits all of us. As Southerners, we are connected by a shared heritage and history." A Story Untold is a compilation of nine written essays and one pictorial essay concerning the history of black men and women in Athens, Georgia. Each essay depicts either an individual contribution or the historical development of one the major institutions within the Athens black community.