This meeting of the Rotary Club of Atlanta West End was held at Atlanta Technical College in the Brenda Watts Jones Center.  The late Dr. Jones, a past president of AWER, also served as a president of Atlanta Technical College.   Co-AWER President Elect Debra Stokes introduced Mr. Imara Canady, Board Chair of the Hammonds House Museum on 503 Peebles Street, SW in the West End as our speaker. 

Imara began by quoting the late Nina Baldwin as a way to introduce the work of Hammonds House Museum: "Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate, to inspire and motivate." "Surely," he said, "this is the way of the Hammonds House".

Imara described the Hammonds House Museum as a cultural institution dedicated to celebrating the artists of the African diaspora. Originally a home at 503 Peeples Street SW, it was formerly the residence of Dr. Otis Thrash Hammonds, an esteemed anesthesiologist and an Atlanta physician and art patron. 

The property was transformed into a museum through a Fulton County partnership. Former Fulton County Chairman Michael Lomax led an approach to Dr. Hammonds’ mother about turning her son's Victorian home into a museum. The idea was always to “preserve the house as a repository for the collection" which Ms. Hammonds agreed to allow. The scope was to include it as an art center where work by African American artists is shown.  The mission of the museum is to preserve, display, interpret and increase awareness about visual artists of African descent.  

Today it houses galleries, community gathering spaces, and the John Roden Sculpture Garden, making Hammonds House the only Black American-focused arts institution in the nation with such a collection. The museum’s mission has evolved from a research center to a hub for exhibitions, community programming, and cultural dialogue, welcoming thousands of visitors each year.

Board Chair Imara invited Rotarians to support Hammonds House by visiting the museum, becoming members, volunteering, or amplifying their mission through networks and social media. He noted Hammonds House Museum’s role as more than an art space. It is a gathering place for families, students, and international visitors alike. Affordable memberships (starting at $20–25) also provide access to partner museums nationwide. With concerts, family reunions, exhibitions, and interdisciplinary collaborations, Hammonds House creates what they described as a transformative experience, where visitors leave with new perspectives on themselves and the world.  For more information, visit hammonshouse.org.

 ----

Neil Shorthouse, KeyWay Reporter