Donald S. Summerlin. Photo by Camie Williams. Courtesy of the University of Georgia.

Atlanta, GA, November 18, 2020 – The Georgia Historical Society has announced that Mr. Donald S. Summerlin, the Digital Projects Librarian and Archivist at the Digital Library of Georgia at the University of Georgia Libraries, has been named the recipient of the 2020 John C. Inscoe Award for his article, “‘We Represented the Best of Georgia in Chicago’: The Georgia Loyalist Delegate Challenge at the 1968 Democratic Convention.”

“We are pleased to recognize Donald Summerlin as the recipient of this year’s Inscoe Award for the best article in the Georgia Historical Quarterly for the year 2019,” said Dr. W. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society. “His meticulous research sheds light on the controversial 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago and Georgia’s role in it, during one of the most turbulent years in American history.”

“We looked for a compelling argument that was developed and sustained throughout the essay; a clear articulation of where the piece fit in the larger historiography; and a satisfying conclusion that conveys the subject's significance,” added Dr. Sarah Gardner, Distinguished Professor of History at Mercer University and Chair of the GHS Publication Awards Committee for 2020. “Mr. Summerlin's article had all of this, as well as a strong narrative through line and the meticulous research that informed it.”

The Inscoe Award was established in 2018 to honor John Inscoe, the Albert B. Saye Professor of History at the University of Georgia and editor of the Georgia Historical Quarterly from 1989 to 2000. It is given for the best article published in the Georgia Historical Quarterly in the previous year.

The award is made possible by an endowment fund created through contributions from friends and admirers of John Inscoe. The endowment honors John’s life, work, and legacy and provides funds for a cash prize for the Inscoe Award recipient. Donations toward the endowment are ongoing.

Published continuously since 1917, The Georgia Historical Quarterly  is one of the premier state historical journals in the United States, published by the Georgia Historical Society. The GHQ features the finest scholarly articles on Georgia history, book reviews covering all aspects of southern and Georgia history, edited primary sources, oral histories, and essays by and about contemporary history-makers.

The award was presented at a private ceremony outside the Special Collections Library Building at the University of Georgia on November 12, 2020.

For more information about the John C. Inscoe Award please contact Patricia Meagher, Director of Communications, at 434.996.7085 or by email at PMeagher@GeorgiaHistory.com.

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