Black History Month Celebration Looks At the Jazz Age In The South

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Jazz Age, also known as the Roaring Twenties. The Dekalb History Center will focus its annual Black History Month Celebration on the Jazz Age with multiple presenters, including a lecture from La’Neice Littleton of Clark University, and a screening of Tiffany Parks’ documentary that explored the Jazz Age In The South from The African American Perspective.

The main focus of the event is to look at the South’s history with Jazz and African American experiences.

“Atlanta was a hub of education for African Americans; black businesses were booming during that time on Auburn Avenue; there were 72 different African American owned businesses on that street; and you had literary societies in Atlanta,” Parks said. “There was a lot going on at that time, and we want people to learn about that. Plus, we’re in the ‘Bible Belt’, so there was a complicated history with African Americans in the black church and jazz. It was a really complicated situation, so we want people to learn about those intersections.”