The creators of the Golden Blocks Legends series of comic books held a discussion panel, Wednesday afternoon, in the Reese Library on Augusta University’s Summerville campus, talking about the recently-released work.
Through stories about the adventures of its main characters, two curious young girls named Bianca and Si-Long, the comic explores African American history in Augusta, especially that of the “Golden Blocks,” a nickname of the predominantly Black downtown Augusta business corridor that flourished amid Jim Crow in the first half of the 20th century.
Corey Rogers, historian at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, cites the district as one among many thriving Black communities in the country at the time, such as Tulsa, Okla.’s Greenwood District, known as the “Black Wall Street.”
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“There were hundreds of Black Wall Streets during this era of segregation,” said Rogers. “Here in Augusta, at the confluence of Gwinette Street, today Laney Walker Boulevard, and Campbell Street, today James Brown Boulevard, was the origin point of our Black Wall Street, which they affectionately called the Golden Blocks.”
The comic is to feature several important figures in the city’s history—the “legends” referred to in the title—such as Rev. C.T. Walker, W.S. Hornsby, John Wesley Gilbert and Silas X. Floyd. The first issue centers around Lucy Craft Laney.
The book is produced and published by a team comprised of Rogers, Augusta University teaching professors Kim Barker, Christi Pace, Amy McClure, Betsy VanDeusen and Juan Walker, and artists Art Abdon and his daughter, AU alumna A’Shaela Abdon.
The academics among the team began coordinating the project after receiving a Research Scholarship & Creative Activities (RSCA) grant in the summer of 2022. The comic book project was unveiled in December of that year at the HUB for Community Innovation.
The group developed the Golden Blocks Legend series primarily as a resource for teachers, as means to aid in interdisciplinary education, as science, math and many other subjects alongside history can be incorporated into the comic books’ stories.
“It’s such a wonderful way to connect with people, not just children,” said Barker. “I’ve noticed even adults that I’ve come across love learning about this history… as literacy person I knew that a comic was a good mode for teaching, not just the history, but also literacy itself.”
Hundreds of copies have already been printed of the first issue, “Lucy Craft Laney: Mother of the Children of the People,” and distributed for free to local educators—Barker stressed that the comics are meant to be given away, rather than sold.
For more information on the Golden Blocks Legends Comics, visit https://www.augusta.edu/education/literacy-center/golden.php for the creative team’s contact information.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
