A new book presents rare images of African Americans in Rutherford County.
Assembled by Devora E. Butler, the book is part of Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series.
It features more than 200 vintage images including a number of historic ones dating back to the 1800s.
Divided into three sections, Education, the Military and Faces and Places of Rutherford County, the book shows how the church is the backbone of the local African American community.
“The personal stories of America Eules and another local ex-slave, Berry Wesley Seward, come to mind when I study the history of the African American church in Rutherford County. Both local folk, coming from a hard life of bondage and toil, they held tight to their belief that God would lead them to a better life,” Butler said.
Butler, 44, is a native of Murfreesboro. The Butler family has been in the same area for over 125 years and has been designated a “Century Farm” family in the state of Tennessee—one of only four African American families with such a designation.
Butler is a graduate of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, majoring in political science; earned a master’s in education from the University of London, England; and a master’s in teaching from Belmont University.
She has worked as a political fundraiser and organizer for the Democratic National Committee, a congressional assistant, and an aide to numerous elected officials in the county and state levels in Seattle and Washington state. She has even served as a researcher for the first black woman to be elected to British Parliament in England, while a student at the Institute of Education in London.
Butler has served as a teacher in both public and private schools in Tennessee, and is currently married and residing in Murfreesboro with her college sweetheart Bill and three daughters: Alyss, Augusta and Anniebelle.
A product of Key United Methodist Church, Butler was politicized by a church study trip to the United Nations and Washington D.C.
“I have personally experienced the power of a strong church, and its ripple effect on the people of a community and vice versa. When one discovers Rutherford County residents that exemplify such endurance and strength, we know the substance on which the foundation of our African American community was built,” she said.
“African Americans in Rutherford County” will be released for sale Oct. 12 and will be available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and on-line retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or www.arcadiapublishing.com.
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