Towns, George A., and family on front porch, circa 1918

This collection consists of the papers of George Alexander Towns from 1851 to 1963. It includes correspondence, literary works, diaries, photographs, and publications. The bulk of the materials pertain to Towns' association with Atlanta University (AU) both as a student and faculty member. The earliest materials concern Lucy Elizabeth (Merriam) Case, a favorite teacher of Towns at AU, and include her biography which tells of the beginning of the school and a few of its students. Correspondence from Horace Bumstead (AU’s second president) describes Towns' fundraising and public relations work, his support of William Monroe Trotter’s attack on Booker T. Washington, and Towns' subsequent censure by AU’s Board of Trustees. Correspondence from AU classmate James Weldon Johnson traces Johnson’s literary career and their involvement with the struggle of African American men. Correspondence between Towns and Harvard Classmate William N. Seaver discusses national and local politics, World War II, and the Civil Rights Movement. Other major correspondents include Myron W. Adams, Rufus E. Clement, William Henry Crogman, W.E.B. DuBois, and Edward Twichell Ware. The collection also contains materials pertaining to Towns' career at Fort Valley; drafts of poems, prose, and class lecture notes; and his essays and notes from when he was a student.