The Praise House Project Remembers the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre
The Praise House Project partners with South-View Cemetery and the Coalition to Remember the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre to aknowledge the victims who rest at the South-View. This opening preview event for the Praise House at South-View will include a procession and illumination of Praise House on September 21st at 6-9pm - sunset.
To view a full schedule of events related to the Days of Remembrance visit AtlantaRaceMassacre.org
MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Contact: Charmaine Minniefield
Charmaine@PraiseHouseProject.org
404-202-2271
The Praise House Project at South-View Cemetery Opening Preview Event – September 21, 2025
The Praise House Project by visual artist-activist Charmaine Minniefield opens with a preview event on September 21, 2025, marking the 119th anniversary of the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre. Presented in partnership with South-View Cemetery and the Coalition to Remember the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre, the evening begins at sunset with a remembrance procession and illumination of the Praise House installation to honor the victims buried there.
Located in historic Lakewood Heights, South-View Cemetery was founded in 1886 by newly emancipated families to ensure dignified burials for their community. Today, it is the final resting place for over 90,000 ancestors, including Alonzo and Adrienne Herndon, John Wesley Dobbs, Geneva Haugabrooks, Hank Aaron, John Lewis, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s parents. Dr. King was first buried at South-View; his original crypt remains, bearing scars from a racially motivated attack.
Preview day schedule:
3:30 PM – Historical tours at South-View Cemetery (1990 Jonesboro Rd)
5–9 PM – Art exhibition at the New Freedom Studio (1884 Jonesboro Rd)
Sunset (approx. 7:03 PM) – Remembrance procession and illumination of the Praise House installation
The Praise House will remain on view through March 29, 2026, featuring cultural programming, oral history recordings, and public events. The project also supports South-View’s efforts to establish a perpetual care fund for its historic grounds.
For more details, visit: 🔗 praisehouseproject.org 🔗 southviewcemetery.com 🔗 1906atlantaracemassacre.org
Project Sponsors:National Endowment for the Arts, Emory University, Imlay Foundation, The Homestead Foundation, City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, Fulton County Arts & Culture, and the ReBuildATL Coalition (Lifecycle Building Center, ReGen Community Advisory, Georgia Tech Center for Sustainable Communities).
Community Partners:Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, ASALH Atlanta Branch, Auburn Avenue Research Library, Culture Centers International, FCS, Georgia State University CMII Lab, Georgia Tech @Home Global Program, Spelman College Social Justice Program, Morehouse College HBCU Internship Program, Historic District Development Corporation, National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and South-View Cemetery Foundation.
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Praise House Project, 404-549-7014, Nonprofit EIN Number: 87-2678144
WEBSITE:
SOCIAL MEDIA
IG: @PraiseHouseProject
FB: Praise House Project
#PraiseHouseProject #RemembranceasResistance #preservingblacknarratives
EVENT FLYER
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11jCOmvpZ8xTIa3TtOWrPyszwNM-9_ktL/view?usp=sharing
MEDIA IMAGES:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YTilObUr56IkyTVGxDJ74qwV8Y8ZQK9m?usp=share_link
ABOUT SOUTH-VIEW CEMETERY
https://southviewcemetery.com/our-history/
ABOUT THE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT IN COLLABORATION WITH CULTURE CENTERS INTERNATIONAL
https://culturecentersinternational.org/interview-registration/
In collaboration with the Praise House Project, CCI will record interviews of visitors to South-View and map these remembrances with its city of the dead during the project's residency through March 29, 2026.
ABOUT THE COALITION TO REMEMBER THE 1906 ATLANTA RACE MASSACRE
https://1906AtlantaRaceMassacre.org
ABOUT THE ARTIST: CHARMAINE MINNIEFIELD
Firmly rooted in womanist social theory and ancestral veneration, the work of Charmaine Minniefield is community-based as her research and resulting bodies of work often draw from public archives. She served as the Stuart A. Rose Library artist-in-residence at Emory University and was awarded the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Grant to present her Praise House Project at three different locations in the metro Atlanta area to celebrate the African-American history of each community. Her exhibition titled, "Indigo Prayers: A Creation Story" was presented by the Michael C. Carlos Museum in 2022. Minniefield currently serves as an inaugural Constellations Fellow with the Center for Cultural Power. She splits her time in residence between Atlanta and the Gambia, where she continues to study the origins of her cultural identity and indigenous traditions by tracing the Ring Shout.
