Michael L. Thurmond, a Paine College alumnus, has recently been named a finalist for the 2025 Georgia Author of the Year Award in the history category by the Georgia Writers Association.
Thurmond’s latest book, “James Oglethorpe, Father of Georgia: A Founder’s Journey from Slave Trader to Abolitionist,” earned recognition for its reassessment of Oglethorpe’s legacy as the founder of Georgia.
The book examines how Oglethorpe evolved from a slave trader to a vocal abolitionist, shedding new light on his contributions to the abolitionist movement.
“I am honored and humbled that my work has been recognized by such a prestigious organization,” Thurmond said.
Published by the University of Georgia Press, the book explores Oglethorpe’s early ties to the British slave trade and his use of slave labor in establishing Savannah.
Thurmond argues that Oglethorpe’s views on slavery changed over time, eventually leading him to oppose it on both humanitarian and economic grounds.
The Georgia Writers Association praised Thurmond for detailing Oglethorpe’s relationships with Black figures such as Ayuba Sulieman Diallo and Olaudah Equiano, who survived the transatlantic slave trade, according to a press release from Paine College.
These relationships are viewed as significant moments in early interracial abolitionist activism.
According to the judges, Thurmond ‘s book also provides “compelling details about the founder’s lifelong resistance to slavery for economic, colonial-defense, and humanitarian reasons, and he chronicles multiple occasions when Oglethorpe recognized the shared humanity of other people.”
Highlighted by the Georgia Writers Association, Thurmond’s contributions continue to reshape the understanding of Georgia’s colonial past, particularly in regard to the legacy of slavery and the abolitionist movement, according to a press release from Paine College.
Thurmond’s previous work, “Freedom: Georgia’s Antislavery Heritage, 1733-1865,” received the Georgia Historical Society’s Lilla Hawes Award in 2015 and was named one of the “Twenty-Five Books All Georgians Should Read” by the Georgia Center for the Book in 2004.
For more information about other nominees or Thurmond, visit: https://www.authoroftheyear.org/2025-nominees
