Big Four Corners: An African American Business District
Published 10:00 am Thursday, February 6, 2025
Paintings by a LaGrange artist depicting the Hamilton Road area affected by a highway project are on display at LaGrange Memorial Library.
The exhibit of works by Felecia T. Moore is titled ”Big Four Corners: An African American Business District.”
”My acrylic paintings depict African American communities in LaGrange as they looked in the past and as they currently stand,” said Moore, a Georgia native. ”The structures once served as businesses, schools, churches, libraries, parks and bridges that were owned, operated, cared for by or had an impact in the lives of African Americans in LaGrange. Because of the influence of the many stories that were told to me about these communities, my paintings are created in honor of and in remembrance of the trailblazers and influencers that are still with us or those that came before me.”
A long-awaited highway project under way on a portion of Hamilton Road helped spark her desire to capture its images through her paintings.
”My goal is to mitigate the impact of a road-widening project began in 2021 that was at least 40 years in the making for the portion of Hamilton Road within the city limit,” Moore said. ”There is much sadness for the loss of the park and the buildings demolished during the project and those that are slated for demolition in the Big Four Corners area and other parts of the Hamilton Road community.
”When the load of the sadness of the buildings becomes heavy for me, I temporarily lighten the load by creating paintings of those that could be my ancestors, memories from my past or fun in the sun.”
Moore will give an artist talk at noon Saturday, Feb. 15, at the library at 115 Alford St.
Moore, a native of Talbot County, has lived in LaGrange for more than 30 years. Her professional career has included work in human resources, information technology, middle school teaching and college archives. In her spare time, she has been writing family history books and painting and documenting the local history of various African American schools and neighborhoods in Troup and Talbot counties.
Moore is a member of the board of Friends of LaGrange Memorial Library and of the Azalea Storytelling Festival Committee, where she is a teller. She has been married to husband Jerome for 31 years. They have two daughters, Jessica and Whitney, and a son-in-law, Logan.
Prints of her paintings will be on display through Feb. 28.