Juneteenth bench project honors author Toni Morrison and a formerly enslaved Cobb County family

On Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in honor of Juneteenth, the Friends of the Concord Bridge, Cobb Parks and the Toni Morrison Society hosted a gathering for the 34th installation of the "Bench by the Road" project at the Silver Comet Trail in Mableton, Ga.

The event showcased the installation of a bench honoring the legacy of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning African American author, Toni Morrison, and paying tribute to formerly enslaved and free persons of Cobb County before emancipation in 1865.

Caption

Pat Burns (in green) and Cobb County community members posed for pictures on June 18, 2024, in front of the bench.

Credit: Courtesy of Friends of the Concord Bridge

"This is such an honor to be awarded the bench by the Toni Morrison Society," Pat Burns, a 'Friends' Board member, said. "Outside of the statue at the Root House in Marietta, it will be the first significant acknowledgment of enslaved families who lived here." 

The bench will also recognize the family of Matilda Ruff and her children, Calvin, Zeida, and Rhoda, who lived and worked in Concord Covered Bridge Historic District as a part of the 3,819 enslaved people living in Cobb County in the 1860s, per Concord Covered Bridge.

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The Silver Comet Trail "Bench by the Road" inscription.

Credit: Courtesy of Pat Burns

Thirty-five years ago, Burns moved into an old house in the historic district and discovered a 3x5 note card in the kitchen containing the names of Matilda and her children. 

After exploring who Matilda was, Burns discovered the family's names from an 1870 census taken after emancipation, which she shared during a speech at Tuesday's gathering.

"This formerly enslaved family had to be recognized — they should be called by their names in this Historic District where they lived and survived," Burns said. "But Matilda and her children needed more than a plaque or sign. They deserved something that would stop people, something for people to touch and to allow moments of reflection."

She then read about the Toni Morrison Society and their bench project installations and helped advocate for a bench in the area.

"A Bench is a perfect commemorative," she said. "A bench of black steel is strong and resilient. A bench is interpretive, and a bench is interactive with the living."

Burns says the Ruff family represents the more than 3,000 formerly enslaved people in Cobb County and that Matilda's spirit lives on at the bench and the small green space surrounding it that will be known as Matilda's Garden.

Read here for more information about the Bench by the Road project.