Paul Pierce, retired producing artistic director of the Springer Opera House, grew up in Rome, Georgia, but his family ties to southern Georgia stretch back seven generations.
Mac showed Pierce a map of the land his ancestors purchased. The plot allotted to Thomas Pierce in 1827 included three homes. Looking closer at the map’s legend, Pierce realized this meant his ancestors purchased land native people were living on.
After this revelation, Pierce began to learn more about Muscogee history and the forceful 1836 removal of over 20,000 Muscogee Nation members from the Southeast along the Trail of Tears.
“You and I aren’t guilty of a crime,” Pierce told the Ledger-Enquirer, “but we’re beneficiaries of it. Now that we know, the only question is: Is there something we’re going to do about it?”…