Greene County, Georgia, follows the lives of a people once burdened by the yoke of slavery through their struggles and important accomplishments of today. Located 80 miles east of Atlanta, Greene County is a place with a history rooted in faith. It was a site for many churches that began in "brush arbors," spaces where former slaves could gather for worship and express themselves freely. This volume also illuminates some of the area's most influential residents, including Abraham Colby, the county's first African American to serve as representative in the general assembly in 1868, and Dr. Calvin M. Baber, the county's second African-American physician.

During Prohibition, Greene County was the moonshine capital of Georgia. A corrupt sheriff and hundreds of illegal stills made this little area east of Atlanta the source of liquor for hotels in the city and people across the South. Then, in 1925, a twenty-one-year-old named L.L. Wyatt was recruited to break up this thriving industry. Wyatt's battles with the bootleggers would soon turn him into a figure larger than life. As his fearlessness, agility, honesty, and fairness in enforcing the law were demonstrated again and again, the stories spread throughout the county, sweeping everyone up into the legend of L.L. Wyatt. Bolstered by a sense that God was protecting him, Wyatt was fearless in his mission. In only five years, he transformed Greene County into one of the most crime-free places in Georgia. He was shot at, spit upon, bitten, and cursed for it, but for five decades, Wyatt was engaged in an ongoing war between the law and those who would oppose it, maintaining law, order, and the respect of all, even criminals. No crime went unsolved during his 36 years as sheriff of Greene County, a feat even Hollywood took note of. More than just a legend from the past, Wyatt's story shows that one person can change their community for good. His ideals challenge law enforcement and society alike to uphold a firm respect for the law while also enforcing it in a manner that preserves dignity. Every single citizen mattered to Sheriff L.L. Wyatt. Before there was such a thing, Wyatt was a true community police officer and sheriff.

Their songs insist that the arrival of the railroad and the appearance of the tiny depot often created such hope that it inspired the construction of the architectural extravaganzas that were the courthouses of the era. In these buildings the distorted myth of the Old South collided head-on with the equally deformed myth of the New South."

Hush, Child! Can’t You Hear the Music? is a remarkable collection of black folktales and photographs from rural Georgia. During the 1930s and 1940s Rose Thompson worked as a home supervisor with the Farm Security Administration in middle Georgia. While she worked with farmers and their wives--teaching them to put up preserves, make cotton mattresses, and build chick brooders--she listened to the stories they told. Reading Hush, Child! Can’t You Hear the Music? is like spending an afternoon reminiscing on the front porch. The book is illustrated with photographs taken by Thompson and WPA photographer Jack Delano.