Nearly every Georgian knows about James Oglethorpe, who founded the Georgia colony in 1733. Middle school students learn to this day that chattel slavery was prohibited in the colony because of him. But a new book argues that a little known history informed Oglethorpe’s abolitionist stance: his friendships with two formerly enslaved Black men.
Michael L Thurmond was born in Athens, Georgia and has served in the State Legislature and as Georgia’s labor commissioner. He is currently the chief executive officer of Dekalb County. His recent book on Georgia’s founding father James Oglethorpe was a finalist for a Georgia Author of the Year Award this year by the Georgia Writers Association.
Thurmond says that history classes overlook a key part of Oglethorpe’s commitment to the abolition of slavery—his friendships with two formerly enslaved Black men.
“He thought that slavery would dehumanize not just those who were enslaved, but also the enslavers, and Oglethorpe was among the first, if not the first, British colonists to speak out against slavery in North America,” he says.
Thurmond sat down with WUGA’s Emma Auer to discuss his book, and why he believes Georgia’s founding father should be a model for Georgia leaders today.
