Atlanta, Ga., June 2, 2016 – The Georgia Historical Society will dedicate a new historical marker this Saturday to Reverend Silas Xavier Floyd, in Augusta. The marker is the latest addition to the Georgia Civil Rights Trail, an initiative focused broadly on the economic, social, political, and cultural history of the Civil Rights Movement. Markers in the series guide audiences to the sites where history happened and share the stories of struggle, determination, and leadership that help us cultivate a deeper understanding of our shared past and its relevance to the present.
Located at Floyd’s former residence, the historical marker relates Floyd’s life as an educator, pastor, and early proponent of civil rights. Floyd notably chaired the Colored Charitable Relief Fund following the Great Augusta Fire of 1916. The fund aided African Americans who needed relief as a result of the fire.
Speakers for the event include Mrs. Christine Miller-Betts, Executive Director, and Mr. Corey Rogers, Historian at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History; Mr. Tracy Williams, local historian; Mr. Joey Kenley, President, and Brother William Gainous, Chaplain, of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.; The Honorable William Fennoy, Augusta-Richmond County Commission; and Ms. Elyse Butler, Membership and Outreach Associate for the Georgia Historical Society.
The program will be held at the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity House, 1025 12th Street, in Augusta, Saturday, June 4, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. There will also be a reception immediately following at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History 1116 Phillips Street, in Augusta. The public is invited to attend.
The historical marker reads:
Silas Xavier Floyd, D.D.
1869-1923
An Augusta native, Floyd graduated as valedictorian from both Ware High School and Atlanta University. Returning to Augusta he served as the second pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church and as a public school educator. Floyd co-founded the Negro Press Association of Georgia in 1892 and edited the Augusta Sentinel, an African-American weekly newspaper. Floyd chaired the Colored Charitable Relief Fund in the aftermath of the Great Augusta Fire of 1916. His weekly column in The Augusta Chronicle evolved into “Notes Among the Colored People,” which provided social commentary on local African-American life. An early proponent of civil rights, Floyd worked for racial justice through his speeches and writings. Floyd lived in this home from 1906 until his death in 1923. Members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. purchased the property for their chapter house in 1953.
Erected by the Georgia Historical Society, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Alpha Chi Lambda Chapter, and Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History
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The Georgia Historical Society has administered Georgia’s historical marker program since 1998, erecting over 200 historical markers across Georgia on a wide variety of subjects. Now, online mapping tools allow you to design statewide driving routes based on historical markers, while mobile apps give information about markers nearby. Visit georgiahistory.com for more ways to use Georgia’s historical markers and experience history where it happened.