On Monday, Sept. 9, Friends of the DeKalb County Public Library will host a book signing with DeKalb County’s CEO, Michael Thurmond, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the publication of his book, “A Story Untold: Black Men and Women in Athens History.”

Raised as a sharecropper’s son in Clarke County, Ga., Thurmond researched and wrote “A Story Untold” while earning his Juris Doctorate at the University of South Carolina’s School of Law. The Athens Historical Society published the third edition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the publication of the book, which was published in 1978.

In 1986, Thurmond became the first African American elected to the Georgia General Assembly from Clarke County since the Reconstruction era. Thurmond also served as the head of Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services, as the Georgia Commissioner of Labor and as the DeKalb County School District Superintendent. Additionally, he’s the author of “Freedom: Georgia’s Antislavery Heritage.”

Thurmond’s book is a compilation of nine written essays and one pictorial essay concerning African American Athenians.

The reception and book signing is a free event and is open to the public. The book signing will take place from 7:15 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the Decatur Library, located at 215 Sycamore St. in Decatur.

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