Flat Rock Archives: How DeKalb sharecroppers became the county's first Black landowners

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Beyond the vast network of nature trails and emerging new builds around the City of Stonecrest, there’s a story of resilience in the soil that enslaved people once tended to.

Before there was Stonecrest, the area was known as Flat Rock—a community founded by the descendants of slaves who eventually came to own the land their ancestors once worked.

For the last 40 years, the legacy of that community has been preserved through DeKalb County’s Flat Rock Archives.

"You can’t know where you’re going without having an appreciation for where you’ve been," Arabia Mountain Alliance Assistant Executive Director Brigette Jones said. "Not only did Black people survive slavery, they thrived in spite of it."

Origins of the Archives: A foundation for freedom

The backstory:

The story begins at the Lyon Family Farm—one of four historic sites that make up the Flat Rock Archives.

The small plantation, built in 1821, is the oldest homestead in DeKalb County.

"You start here because it gives you the foundational story. It tells you about Joseph Lyon and his family as white settlers to the community," Jones explained.

The family acquired the property through a state land lottery and brought with them 17 slaves—all housed in tight quarters of the home they helped build.

That was up until President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863—freeing them and others at nearby plantations who went on to build their own small rural community.

Emancipation to Ownership: Who is TA Bryant Sr.?

What they're saying:

T.A. Bryant Sr.—a founding member of the Flat Rock community—was one of the first Black men to own property in DeKalb County.

He was said to have purchased 40 acres for about $600 from a man named Jim South in the 1920s. Over the next 20 years, he would help many others in the community go from occupants to owners.

"He defied many odds. It was very taboo to sell land to a black person in that time period," Jones told FOX 5. "He gave agency to other community members through selling those parcels off at an affordable rate…which is the foundation of upward mobility—homeownership and land ownership."

Patricia Bryant-Hughes is Bryants Sr.’s granddaughter. She was born in the homestead that he built.

"My father was Reverend Theodore Arthur Bryant Jr. His father was Theodore Bryant Arthur Sr," she said. "Knowing who you are…it completes you."

Their story is one stand-up comedian and actor Chris Tucker says he grew up hearing about as a DeKalb County native—and Bryant Sr.’s great-grandson.

"Once he bought his own land, there was nothing he couldn’t do," he said of his great-grandfather.

Tucker told FOX 5 his family history is a part of what inspired him in his own journey to success.

"He had his farm burned down once…you know people are jealous that a Black man had 60 acres," he recalled. "You just see that strength in the family, that wisdom and knowledge and hard work…we walk in footsteps of so many greats."

From promise to preservation: What Happened to Flat Rock? 

Local perspective:

Prevailing racism, lack of access to resources and urbanization led many of Flat Rock’s original families to leave the settlement behind during the tail end of the Great Migration.

Its history has been preserved through the Flat Rock Archives co-created by TA Bryant Jr. and Johnny Waits in 1981.

"You can go in there and find census records…photographs, contacts for the people, the elders who still hold those stories," Jones said.

The Flat Rock Archives tour, which has drawn thousands of visitors, is open to the public Thursday through Saturday each week.

Attempts to reach a representative for the Flat Rock Archives to participate in this story were unsuccessful. An attorney for the Archives said they declined to comment. 

You can find more information about how to book a tour by clicking here.