Honoring Greene County’s first Black legislator

Celebration and Historical Marker unveiling is April 25-26 in downtown Greensboro.

12-4 p.m. Saturday April 25 -- keynote speakers and live musical performances

3 p.m. Sunday, April 26 -- Historical marker unveiled

at Greene County Courthouse lawn

113 N. Main St., Greensboro, GA

BYO lawn chair

On the grounds of the Georgia State Capitol stands a bronze sculpture, Expelled Because of Color, which commemorates 33 Black legislators who were elected to office – 30 in the House and three in the Senate -- and promptly expelled because of the color of their skin in 1868.

Abram Colby

One of those men was Abram Colby, representative of Greene County. The Georgia Historical Society and the Greene County African American Museum will unveil a new historical marker honoring Colby this weekend on the Greene County Courthouse campus.

Colby was born in 1820 to an enslaved teen mother and wealthy white plantation owner father. When his father passed away, he willed his plantation home to Colby’s mother and her children. This enabled Colby to grow up in his own plantation home before and during the Civil War.

In 1868, Colby ran for office and was elected in a landslide to represent Greene County in the State House. Like the other newly elected Black legislators, he was expelled shortly after his arrival. Upon his return home, Colby was bribed by locals to abandon his efforts to use politics to create change in the county. He refused, and the KKK stormed his house, dragged him out of bed and into the woods where they brutally beat him.

Although severely and permanently injured, Colby miraculously survived the beating. When the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that Blacks had the right to hold office in Georgia, he ran for re-election and won. He also testified about his assaults before Congress and President Grant.

According to reports from the Greene County African American Museum and research byGreer Brigham, in 1872, Colby took a night train home from Atlanta to support a political ally speaking in Greensboro. There is no recorded evidence of what happened onboard, but newspapers across the state reported that Colby died on the train. Soon afterward, his family left the state, the remaining Black legislators lost power, and almost all memory of Colby was lost from Greene County.

This new historical marker will offer a permanent reminder of his courage and service. The marker – applied for by Greene County African American Museum Director Mamie Hillman and accepted by the Georgia Historical Society -- will be one of just five to be installed statewide in 2026.

Everyone is invited to celebrate Colby's work this weekend. Festivities include keynote speakers and live musical performances 12-4 p.m. Saturday, April 25, and the unveiling of the historical marker at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 26.

Both celebrations will take place on the Greene County Courthouse lawn, 113 N. Main St., in downtown Greensboro. Please bring your own lawn chair.