The Plaza Arts Center hosted the sixth annual Putnam County Community Black History Celebration on Feb. 18, presented by Eatonton Mayor John Reid and city Councilmember Janie B. Reid.
“We don’t have to look in a history book to find people to celebrate Black History,” Mistress of Ceremony and Putnam County Planning and Development Director Lisa Jackson said. “Right here, in our own community, we have trailblazers, history makers, and world changers.”
Following a brief joint introduction from Jackson and Master of Ceremony Jesse Little, a retired employee of the Hancock and Putnam County Department of Family and Children’s Services/ Adult Protective Services, Loretta Hampton sang the national anthem and Patricia Jones Hurt gave the invocation.
“Today, we’re honoring the people who opened the doors that were closed in their faces,” Mayor Reid said in his welcoming speech. “I come from the time when I could see the laundromat that said, ‘White Only,’ but, by the grace of God, I could be the mayor. Things changed. They changed because of the work that people put into it.”
“[Eatonton] is a great place to be, and it’s a great time to be here,” he continued. “We see the transition happening now. We see all our storefronts are full. We’ve got businesses waiting in line now. We’re no longer out begging and recruiting. We finally have people come knocking on our door, and that’s what we will be striving for.”
The ceremony continued with presentations of Honorees, alternating with Tribute to Motown songs performed by Isaac Cleveland.
Honorees included John Hurt, Leon (Bruce) Nelson and James Allen (Hank) Richardson Sr., Shirlon Willis-Mathis, Alvin Butts, Kendric Dwayne Manning, Master Chief Antonio Mullins, Bishop William Harris, Christel Nelson, Dr. Fernando Aker, Sharon Key Lawton, and Dr. Lawanna Monday-Harden.
Putnam County native Hurt is a McDonald’s franchise owner of 11 restaurants in Dekalb, Gwinnett, and Clayton counties and a member of the city of Atlanta Premier Business League, board member of The Wheels of Dreams Youth Foundation, served as a chair of the Phoenix Pass Foundation for Homeless Women, a past two-term president of Greater Atlanta McDonald’s Operators Association and a current executive board member.
Graduates of Eatonton’s historic Butler-Baker School, Nelson and Richardson are the owners of Nelson & Richardson Brick & Block Masonry. They have been lifetime friends and business partners for more than 40 years.
Some of the buildings they worked on include the Greater Bell’s Chapel Baptist Church, Union Baptist Church, Crossroad Independent Church, Habitat for Humanity, and Springfield Baptist Church.
Willis-Mathis was born and raised in Eatonton and is the founder and owner of A Kid’s World of Peace Learning Center, as well as Southern Delight Cafeteria, both located in Eatonton. Willis-Mathis as an administration certification from Central Georgia Technical College, an associate degree in Early Childhood from Georgia Piedmont College and a bachelor’s degree in early education from Mercer University. She also is a member of the 2011 Putnam Leadership Class.
Butts, another Putnam County native, is the owner of B&B Construction and CEO of AKB Transport. He serves the constituents of combined Wards 2 and 3 at the Eatonton City Council and chairs the public utilities committee. He is a member of the community development and public safety committees. Formerly a volunteer fireman, he was the first black person to serve on the Eatonton-Putnam Rescue Team. For the past 28 years, Butts also has served as a high school football and basketball official throughout Georgia.
Manning was born in Covington and moved to Eatonton as a five-year-old. He graduated from Putnam County High School and since 2013 has been a recreational football coach.
For Manning, his job is serving the community through football and “sowing seeds so we can have something to be proud of.”
Eatonton native and now in-town business owner Mullins is a military officer whose tours of duty included Japan, Guam, Hawaii, Illinois, Texas, Mississippi, California, Italy, Rhode Island, New Orleans and the Arabian Gulf. He is a holder of multiple awards, which include a Military Service medal, four Navy and Marine Corps. commendation medals, seven Navy and Marine Corps. achievement medals, nine Good Conduct medals, and various unit and campaign awards.
Currently living in Eatonton, Bishop Harris is a former freedom singer for justice – a movement whose members went to cities ahead of Dr. Martin Luther King to raise money and encourage others through song. A veteran of the U.S. Army and a field worker for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Harris was instrumental in the Mississippi March, along with King, and worked on the frontlines with several pioneers of the Civil Rights Movement.
Nelson has been a director of Putnam County Head Start for eight years. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Family and Consumer Science, Nelson added a master’s in Education. Since 2020 she has been a Circle of Care Leadership advocates and ambassador and currently continues as an Early Childhood Mental Health advocate and ambassador.
Aker, the director of human resources for Putnam County School District since 2018, also was raised in Putnam County and attended Putnam County schools through high school before graduating in 1995 from the University of West Georgia. He began his career as a teacher and coach at Putnam County Middle School that same year and has remained in the Putnam County school system in various positions since.
Putnam County High School graduate Key Lawton graduated from Putnam County High School in 1985 and went on to complete two years of college at Fort Valley State University before graduating from Georgia Perimeter College School of Nursing. She has been employed with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta since 1995 where she has received several awards throughout her career, including the prestigious National Daisy Award and has had several nominations for the annual AJC Nurse of the Year award.
An Eatonton native, Monday-Harden graduated with honors from Putnam County High School and earned a four-year basketball scholarship to Augusta State University where she received a B.S. in Biology. Monday-Harden graduated at the top of her class while also earning the distinction of being the university’s all-time leading scorer in women’s basketball. She is currently a surgical instructor for podiatric residents at Emory Hospital and Atlanta Center for Foot and Ankle Surgery, in Sandy Springs.
“Why should we celebrate Black history?” Councilmember Reid asked in her closing speech. “Because it celebrates diversity. It takes us beyond the history books. Typically in our textbooks, we focus on the major players. Oftentimes we leave out the lessons from [local] figures who have accomplished so much.”