Georgia has been on everyone’s mind this year.
A novembre, Presidente eletto Joe Biden became the first Democrat in 28 anni to flip the state blue. E questa settimana, Georgia again enters the political spotlight with two runoff races that will determine which party controls the US Senate.
So as all eyes turn to Georgia, we figured it would be a good time to share with some interesting tidbits you may not know about the Peach State.
THE GOOD
— In the city of Athens, there’s a tree that owns itself. The Junior Ladies Garden Club continues to care for this very special tree.
— Georgia is home to Wesleyan College, il first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women.
Wesleyan College
— Berry College is also located in Georgia. It has the largest contiguous campus in the world (27,000 acri!).
Berry College
— America's largest Black-owned production company is in Georgia: Tyler Perry Studios.
A view of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta
— Located in Midtown Atlanta, The Varsity is considered to be the world’s largest drive-in restaurant. Fondato nel 1928, this gigantic fast-food joint can seat 800 diners!
The Varsity
— Georgia State awards more bachelor’s degrees to Black students di any other institution in the US.
Georgia State University
— Nel 1912, The Girl Scouts program was born here — in Savannah, Georgia.
The first Girl Scout of America, Sig.ra. Samuel G. Laurence addresses a crowd in Savannah, Georgia, during a celebration honoring her aunt, Juliette Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of America.
THE BAD
— Georgia is home to Stone Mountain, a monument for Confederate icons Stonewall Jackson, General Robert E. Lee, and President Jefferson Davis. Its sculptors include the sculptor who went on to carve Mount Rushmore. And it has been called the world’s largest tribute to White supremacy.
Stone Mountain
— Traffic in Atlanta is notoriously terrible. Nel 2020, il INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard concluded that drivers spent on average 82 hours a year sitting in traffic.
Atlanta’s Downtown Connector
— One of the most infamous American cases of anti-Semitism occurred in Atlanta con il lynching of Leo Frank nel 1915.
Pallbearers life the coffin of Leo M. Franco, who was lynched in Georgia in August of 1915.
The scars of this act of terror did not dissipate among the Jewish community, e in 1958, a group of White supremacists called “the Confederate Underground” bombed one of the city’s largest and most culturally significant synagogues.
