had to visit the south periodically to renew her sense, that a little tongue in cheek there. but she felt more comfortable in some ways in new york. and she loved to entertain. what we have here on loan from the carson mccullers center, part of columbus state university, several artifacts from her home in new york. like the record player or the ice bucket would be essential for her, of course, with all of the parties she liked to throw. carson also unfortunately suffered from physical maladies throughout her life. she had a misdiagnosed case of rheumatic fever as a young teenager and that affected her throughout her life and ultimately led to her having several strokes before her early death at the age of 50 in 1967. so this cane that we have here

now to be on the wall was the cane she used to get around that was very important for her. toward the end of her life, she was bedridden for much of her time. there is a wonderful photo of her drinking out of this drinking cup here. it was given to her by her very dear friend mary mercer. ,it has her name engraved on it. that was something she kept at her bedside throughout her life. carson was married to reeves mccullers. soldier stationed at fort benning that she met when she went here. they had a very tumultuous relationship. tragedyately ended in when reeves committed suicide. there is a lot of emotional misunderstanding and infidelity on both sides throughout their

relationship. there was also a real love their and something that connected them with their love of literature and writing. so, these are two books that reeves gave her. in particular, this one you see here says "christmas 1936 -- two o carson, these books and my deepest affection, reeves." even though the relationship was not smooth, we still have these reminders of what true them together and kept them together and why this relationship was so significant in carson's life. one of my favorite pieces related to carson is this collage portrait by the artist scott eagle. it is an imagining of one of her she had became a little famous. here in front we have carson.

working on her autobiography, which was ultimately unfinished. you see her pen in hand. ,in the background, we have a wild dinner party. we have the author isaac denison, the pen name of an author who was portrayed in "out of africa" by meryl streep. we have richard wright, who was significant in african american literature at that time. and of course, we have the marvelous actress marilyn monroe depicted in stunning fashion. and this fellow here with his leg up on the table is playwright tennessee williams. he and carson were part of a literary circle and cultural circle in new york that involved many famous intellectuals of that time living in what was called the february house. he and carson spoke frequently and he would have been a frequent guest at her dinner

parties. i think the joy and enthusiasm for life that you see in this portrait is really indicative of how carson tried to live her life, and even as she wove these amazing stories -- "the heart is a lonely hunter," even as she wove these stories of outcasts and alienation, she still wrote joy in humant the connection that was so essential to her. and is reflected in all of her work. we are standing next to a dress that was worn by one of my favorite people in this exhibit helen augusta howard. ,she was born in columbus to a wealthy blueblood family. that, she was proud of she was also not afraid to do her own thing as we would say today. she was considered scandalous by

many people of her class and especially by her family because of all of her avant-garde choices. she was a vegetarian. she was an atheist. she never married. and she wore pants, which was unthinkable at that time. her primary activity, however, was concentrated on women's suffrage. in 1890, when she was just 25 years old, augusta howard founded the georgia suffrage association. she worked throughout the state for five years going to conventions, meetings and , leading the charge for women's suffrage in the state of georgia. this all culminated in 1895 when the national convention of the national american women's suffrage association was held in atlanta, georgia. delegates from 28 states susan b as well as anthony, who gave the keynote

address. after the convention, augusta and susan b. anthony travel to columbus where susan gave a speech right here in columbus on the importance of women's suffrage. her brothers were not as thrilled about all of the activity and the notoriety their sister was getting into. so controlling the family finances, they cut her off and her public activity ceased. she spent the next several years living in her family's ancestral home in columbus, becoming rather an eccentric recluse in many ways until a bizarre , shooting incident on the property caused her brothers to whisk her away to new york city in 1921, which of course was one year after american women gained the right to vote. she lived the rest of her life in new york city in relative anonymity until she passed away in 1933.

she is actually buried in columbus at linwood cemetery, and her friends raised money for a beautiful, elaborate tombstone for her. it lists several of her accomplishments and says "martyred" which is how her friends felt about her family and brothers stifled her activism. julia and julian harris came to with a specific goal in mind, to fight the rise of the ku klux klan. in the 1920's, it was becoming resurgent across america. its earlierast to form immediately after the civil war, this had a much broader focus. not only did it want to terrorize african americans, but it also targeted catholics, jews, and immigrants. this version of the klan was

also much more interested in getting involved in local and state politics to try to enact policies that fit with their prejudiced views. when the harrises arrived in columbus in the city 1920, commissioner and mayor made a statement that said in effect, the klan was a boon to any city where it was located, which indicates the level of support the kkk was receiving through a fictional -- through official channels. however, they specifically set klan in thet the south. julian and his wife julia were natives of atlanta. julian was the son of the author of the uncle remus and brer rabbit stories. julia had grown up as a socialite in atlanta before marrying julian harris.

these were people who loved their state but wanted to see it continue to progress in many ways and out run some of these outdated attitudes. so, very quickly, the harrises and loyalists made their position known. one of theof editorials they wrote is included here. and this is speaking about the ongoing exit is of african americans the north looking for better opportunities. and the right that other factors "mean nothing if a human being, white or black, feels that he is unjustly treated. if he feels that his life and property are not safe from night riders and cowardly masked organizations, if he feels that he has no voice and making the if he feels that he has no

voice and making the laws under which he must live." prior to this campaign, they lost 20% of these subscribers. but then a letter to the editor proudly boasted that there was no klan control of the city or county government. the harrises also became involved in other national and local issues. both traveled to tennessee to cover these so-called scopes monkey trial in 1925, which they related to a case in georgia banning the teaching of evolution in public schools. julia harris was also involved in family issues. she championed the family welfare bureau and was active in championing literacy.

in 1926, the inquirer son was recognized with a pulitzer prize for its brave and energetic fight against the ku klux klan, against the enactment of a law barring the teaching of evolution, against lynching, and for justice to the negro. well-wishers poured in across the country. some said that the harrises were only too eager to look down on their home state. they were outstanding journalists. their talents to not extend to the business and financial aspects of running a newspaper. in the 1920's they lost ownership of the newspaper to another individual who owned other newspapers. in late 1929, the new owner fire julia harris, indicating her tutorials and in-depth reporting were no longer needed and superfluous. enraged, they both decided to leave columbus and returned to -- atlanta to strike out on new

adventures. many of the residents the moan to this, sending them notes expressing their sadness. an organization for lacked professional men award -- for black professional men awarded them for their efforts improving the lives of african americans in columbus. during their decade in columbus the harrises made an impact not just locally, but on the national scene. the -- columbus was relatively quiet in the 1960's compared to other southern cities. in the 1940's and 50's it experienced several significant civil rights milestones. largely thanks to the work of

one man, dr. thomas brewer. he arrived in columbus in 1920. dr. brewer et al. establish -- help establish the 29 club. in 1964, the indolyl ecp spearheaded a legal -- the naacp established a legal challenge to a whites only primary. the winner of the democratic primary essentially became the winner of the entire election. in 1944, a local barber and minister tried to vote. when he was turned away, he filed a challenge that when all the way to the u.s. supreme court.

the u.s. supreme court eventually struck down the whites only primary, opening the door to increase participation of african-americans a full 20 years before the voting rights act. he convinced the city to hire its first black police officers and continuing to campaign for equal education facilities for african-american students. however his activism came to an abrupt end in 1966. during a dispute with the white owner of a clothing store, brewer was shot and killed. the store owner argued self-defense. however this pistol he had carried for several years after receiving threats to his wife was found unfired in his pants

pocket after his death. more changes did come to columbus throughout the 1960's and 1970's, but they took a much quieter form than in other cities, largely because of the aftermath of the death of dr. brewer. what i hope people take away from this exhibit is that people can make a difference wherever they are. these are people who in many cases grew up in columbus, came to the city as young people and because of their vision, they were able to make differences. they were able to make a difference in the nation as a whole.

>> fort benning is home to more than 30,000 active duty and reserve soldiers. it was named after confederate general henry benning. the c-span city's tour spoke with the national infantry museum about the history of fort benning. >> sound off! >> the group of americans has given more in defense of this country than the united states infantry. has lost more eyes, more arms, more legs, and more lives on the battlefield than any other group of americans.

and it's all because they were willing to go out and give their lives in defense of the country. fort benning was established on the macon road in columbus, georgia on approximately 85 acres of land. in october of 19, caroline benning, the daughter of henry lewis benning from the fort was named, raise the first american flag over the cap. they knew immediately that 85 acres of land would not be for trained modern infantry soldiers and a road out and spoke with a local businessman who owned a lot of the land around here and he agreed to sell it to the army. we eventually moved out here in 1919. in world war i the infantry

played the key role on the battlefield, for all those participating in the war. it was determined that had we had better training we would have lost fewer soldiers. when fort benning started on the macon road, the war had not ended yet, but just about a month later, on the 11th month, 11th hour, 11th day of 1918, the war came to a close. there was talk of closing fort benning. many officers who served in the american expeditionary forces to france went before congress to testify that had our soldiers had better training, they would not have suffered the casualties days of actual combat. they suffered 53,500 killed outright on the battlefield, 300,000 wounded or gassed. for just 200 days of combat,

that was an appalling figure. these officers felt if they could get a place where they trained the infantry soldier and had him do his job properly, and using all the facets of the army, artillery, we would have an artillery unit here, and infantry demonstration unit, tanks here and so on, even a modern corps so all the tactics and techniques of 1918 could begin to those soldiers who were going to be trained. it was determined by congress that we would keep fort benning on a small scale, and luckily for us, it survived. through the 20's and the 30's it is what kept learning alive within the reserves and the national guard and the regular army. when the japanese attacked pearl harbor on december 7, 1941, fort denning was ready to expand