Decatur, GA — Hundreds of people gathered on the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, to enjoy a funk festival with performances from John Boy and Surround Sound, Lakeside and Brick.

DJ Quasi Mandisco spun in between sets, and attendees heard from Beacon Hill elders. The event was also a time to celebrate and reflect on Decatur’s history, including the stories of Beacon Hill, a vibrant Black community in Decatur destroyed by urban renewal practices during the 1950s and 60s.

Speakers included Mayor Emerita Elizabeth Wilson and Omer Rogers. Rogers’ family owned the Rogers Cab Company. Members of the Trinity High School championship football team were also acknowledged and shared their experience of being state champions but not receiving acknowledgment for their championship until decades later. In 2013, the football team met in Decatur, 48 years after their state championship win, for the presentation of their state championship rings.

Wilson moved to Decatur in 1949. She was the first Black mayor and city commissioner in Decatur. She was also the second woman to serve as mayor. Wilson was first elected to the city commission in 1984. She served as mayor from 1993 to 1998.

During the concert, Wilson wished the city a happy birthday.

“We have accomplished a lot,” Wilson said. “Beacon Hill was without a doubt part of the history-making of the city of Decatur.”

Wilson also highlighted Rev. Allen Wilson, the first African American to start a school for African Americans in Decatur.

“He was an educator. He was a Presbyterian minister. He taught school. His wife also taught,” Wilson said. “Later the commissioners named Allen Wilson Terrace Homes in his honor. Deacon Ebster received the honor of having Ebster Park, Ebster Pool, and today, Ebster gym, which we use a lot.”

Ebster Park is named after Donald Grant Ebster. He was a deacon at Thankful Baptist Church and a prominent member of the Decatur Colored Citizen League, according to a brochure from the city about the history of Beacon Hill.

The city was very different in the 1950s and 1960s, which was shortly after Wilson moved to Decatur.

“The audience at that time had on hoods and robes and road down through the community using all kinds of racial slurs,” Wilson said. “We made up our mind at that time, we are not afraid. You can ride through all you want to, but we’re not going anywhere and you are not going to make us afraid anymore.”

Wilson thanked those in attendance for coming to the concert and encouraged visitors to come back.

“You are always welcome in downtown Decatur. We want you to come. We want you to enjoy. We want you to fellowship, and we want you to get to know each other as much as we did living in the Beacon Hill community,” Wilson said.

Mayor Emerita Elizabeth Wilson speaks during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Wilson is the first Black mayor and the first Black city commissioner in Decatur and a pillar of the Beacon Hill Community. Photo by Dean Hesse.

The first installment of the Beacon Hill Concert Series was held on the lawn at the Beacon Municipal Center Plaza at West Trinity Place and Electric Avenue in March 2022. The artists represented a variety of genres throughout the 2022 concert series.

The concert series was inspired by a directive from Wilson to host a concert on the Beacon lawn.

“It started because there was an unveiling at the tiered greenspace that sits between the police station and the Ebster Rec Center,” Decatur City Commissioner Lesa Mayer previously said. “Mayor Elizabeth Wilson and I were sitting and listening to a string duet that was playing in that space. We were talking about how beautiful the acoustics are there.”

Wilson mentioned she would like to see a concert there, so the space could be activated, “but also because the acoustics were so beautiful, we wanted more people to be able to hear what that sounds like,” Mayer added.

The Beacon Municipal Center was the site of Trinity High School and the Beacon School before that. Part of the Trinity High School gym is still part of the Ebster Recreation Center.

“It was the Black school during segregation,” Mayer said. “I don’t know that visitors to Decatur or even residents in the city of Decatur really know a lot about the history of that site and why it’s significant. The concert series wasn’t just an opportunity to bring music or to bring entertainment to Decatur, it was really an opportunity for us to provide education to people about the Beacon Hill community and to honor it in a way that it had never been honored before.”

She added that there is a need to amplify the stories of people who were displaced and forced out of their communities.

“This is significantly bigger. The city of Decatur is commemorating its 200th year,” Mayer said. “It is very important that the history of Beacon Hill is a significant and amplified part of the acknowledgment of the history of the city of Decatur. We cannot commemorate 200 years of the existence of the city of Decatur without celebrating the importance of Beacon Hill, its residents, its businesses and without having a real conversation about why it was destroyed.”

John Boy & Surround Sound perform during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Decatur City Commissioner Lesa Mayer (center) and other attendees dance during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Decatur Mayor Patti Garrett (right) hugs Mayor Emerita Elizabeth Wilson during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

The band Lakeside performs during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Mayor Emerita Elizabeth Wilson is escorted to the stage by Decatur High student Maxwell Barros where she spoke to the crowd during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Cynthia Hardnett, code enforcement officer for the city of Decatur, moves to the music during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Paco reacts to the music during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Clarence Scott, who played with the Cleveland Browns for 13 seasons and was a member of the Trinity High School 1965 state champion football team, speaks to the crowd during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Trinity High School was an African American High School in Decatur that merged with the all-white Decatur High School in 1968 as a result of school desegregation laws. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Friends pose for a photo during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Jimmy Brown (right), lead vocalist and saxophone, flute and trombone player for the band Brick interacts with the audience during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Sabrina Cox dances during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

John Boy & Surround Sound dancers Nakia (left) and Pardi on stage during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

People pack the Decatur Square for the Beacon Hill Concert on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

The band Lakeside takes the stage during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Lila Miller reacts to the music during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Maurice Moore dances during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Lakeside singer Mark Adam Wood Jr. leads into the band’s 1980 number-one hit single “Fantastic Voyage” during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

The band Brick performs during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

(In front, left to right) Nancy Price, Evelyn Sims and Omer Rogers react to the music during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Lakeside founding member and lead singer Mark Adam Wood Jr. (right) poses for a photo with fans during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.

DemiRose Earl dances to the music of John Boy & Surround Sound during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. DemiRose’s father “Digigost” plays bass guitar for the band. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Carroll Jefferson, a member of the Trinity High School 1965 state champion football team, sings the spiritual “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me” during the Beacon Hill Concert at the Decatur Square on Saturday, May 20, 2023. Photo by Dean Hesse.