Revisiting and Archiving Civil Rights and Atlanta in the 1960s: Introducing the Mayor Ivan Allen Digital Archive
7th Floor of Crosland Tower,
As Atlanta’s mayor from 1962-1970, Ivan Allen Jr. oversaw a city undergoing tremendous political, social, and economic change, and helped put Atlanta on a path toward becoming the international metropolis it is today. In this 60th anniversary year of Allen’s election, we will look back upon our recent past and consider the crucial importance of archives for documenting Atlanta residents’ experiences in broadly inclusive ways.
Allen’s mayoral papers were digitized in 2016 and have now been made available to the public through an online portal that features an NEH-funded, custom-built search interface – but viewing these official records raises important questions about whose experiences and points of view are most often prioritized and preserved for posterity.
This one-day symposium will formally introduce the Mayor Ivan Allen Digital Archive, while at the same time exploring the intersection of archives, Atlanta history, and art. The sessions will showcase how communities are preserving their experiences in ways that encourage us to creatively think about the future of archives.
The program will include panels on Atlanta community-archival partnerships and the Legacy Makers’ project to commemorate the Ivan Allen and Maynard Jackson mayoralties, along with keynote lectures by artist/computer scientist Brian Foo and historian Tomiko Brown-Nagin, author of a newly released biography on Constance Baker Motley who successfully prosecuted the first test case of the 1964 Civil Rights Act right here in Atlanta against Lester Maddox’s Pickrick Restaurant.
Speakers
Brian Foo
Artist and computer scientist living and working in Washington, DC and New York City. Data visualization artist at the American Museum of Natural History.
Dr. Tomiko Brown-Nagin
Dean of Harvard Radcliffe Institute, Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School, and member of the history department at the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Panelists
Floyd Hall, Clark Tate , William Downs, Fredalyn M. Frasier, Laura Moody, Samara Minkin, Matt Cherry
Schedule
9:30 a.m. Welcome & the Story of the Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. Digital Archive
10 a.m. Morning Keynote: Brian Foo
11:15 a.m. Lunch
Noon Visit the Eco Commons for Pickrick protest AR demo
1:15 p.m. Atlanta Archives Futures Panel
2:30 p.m. Creating the Art and the Archive - Atlanta Legacy Makers Project
3:45 p.m. Break
4 p.m. Afternoon Keynote: Dr. Tomiko Brown-Nagin
5:15 p.m. Rooftop Reception
Address and Walking Directions

This symposium will be held on the 7th floor of Crosland Tower at 222 Bobby Dodd Way NW, Atlanta, GA 30313.
Find walking directions here: https://library.gatech.edu/directions
Parking and Transportation
Parking at Georgia Tech:
The closest Georgia Tech parking lot is the Visitor Area 1: North Avenue Visitors Lot
Navigate to 190 North Avenue NW, Atlanta, GA 30313
For parking rates, navigate to the Georgia Tech Parking and Transportation page
Taking MARTA:
Tech Trolley: The Tech Trolley provides a direct connection to campus from the Midtown Station. Exit the trolley at the Transit Hub noted on our Interactive Map for easy access to the Library.
Walking: Exit at North Avenue Station and walk west on North Avenue. Take a right onto Cherry Street, The Library is at the end on Cherry Street. This route is approximately 15 minutes.
Contact
For any accommodation requests or questions, please email Catherine Manci at
Eco Commons
This symposium includes an optional lunchtime visit to the Georgia Tech Eco Commons.
Symposium Bibliography
Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality
by Dr. Tomiko Brown-Nagin
Navigating The Green Book
by Brian Foo
Atlanta Legacy Makers: The Podcast
with host Floyd Hall
Sponsors
Georgia Tech Library
Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
School of History and Sociology
School of Literature, Media, and Communication
Digital Integrative Liberal Arts Center
Partners: