| before the lake |
Truthfully Told
Greene County African American Museum opens after
nearly 30 years in the making.
STORY BY TIA LYNN IVEY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY WALSH
Mamie Hillman, executive
director of the new Greene
County African American
Museum has worked since
1995 to establish the museum
to honor her ancestors
and establish a world in
which their descendants
can flourish, according the
museum board of directors.
I
“It is time for our story to be
truthfully told,” Mamie Hillman echoed
at this fall’s opening of the new Greene County African
opened its doors in October, showcasing the stories of
American museum.
everyday African Americans who lived, loved, worked
After nearly three decades of pursuing a dream in a
and influenced the local community.
small Georgia town where black and white citizens
“The Museum is dedicated to the empowerment
were once segregated even in death with separate
of and truth-telling about African American lives
cemetery sections, Greensboro now houses a new
in Greene County. It remembers and celebrates the
museum to celebrate the lives and legacies of local
countless stories of men and women who have largely
African Americans.
gone unnoticed within the county,” says Executive
The Greene County African American Museum
Director Mamie Hillman.
WINTER 2021 | LAKE OCONEE LIVING 23