City Of Smyrna: Statement Regarding Aunt Fanny's Cabin

Press release from the City of Smyrna:

12/16/2021 7:01 PM

Statement Regarding Aunt Fanny's Cabin

Smyrna, GA December 16, 2021

We are a community that believes that our social, economic and educational conditions and opportunities should be available to, are cultivated for and should be nurtured on behalf of all members of our community. We are a community that respects and protects rights and dignity. It is in the spirit of who we are now that we are addressing the future of the former restaurant residual structure known as Aunt Fanny’s Cabin.

With intention of addressing multiple physical and social issues of concern tied to the residual structure of the defunct restaurant establishment on Atlanta Road that was known as “Aunt Fanny’s Cabin” (restaurant that operated for over 50 years from the early 1940s until 1992 in another location) that has been a rental property for Smyrna Parks & Recreation for a number of years, Mayor Norton formed a task force to evaluate not only the soundness and safety of the structure, but also the appropriateness of its existence as a public property in a community that respects and protects rights and dignity.

Make no mistake, and we wish to be very clear, with no ambiguity, that whether there is ever merit in considering retaining objects of history for historic preservation, we condemn the caricature and overt indignity of the theme of the establishment that was Aunt Fanny’s Cabin and it is our intent to do what we can to break the myth of “Aunt Fanny” and honor her appropriately. Fanny Williams had significant accomplishments through her association with Wheat Street Baptist Church, an historical African-American activist church in Atlanta where she was a member. In Cobb County, she is reported to have endured the Ku Klux Klan attempting to burn a cross to intimidate her over her activities which included being one of the major fundraisers for Marietta’s “Negro Hospital,” which broke ground in 1947. The decision that we have faced has given us the opportunity to respect the rights and dignity of Fanny Williams.

We wish to honor Fanny Williams and not the racist theme and myths of the former establishment and others like it, popular and profitable in post WWII Atlanta. Though sometimes viewed in more glowing terms by an almost exclusively white patronage with fond memories of “great food” and a “family atmosphere,” these establishments are symbols and sentiments of a time that does not represent or honor the dignity of all, and certainly does not represent our community. Fanny Williams’ image and person, by all verifiable historical accounts, was exploited in the social and marketing myths of the former establishment. We hope to help protect her memory from myth and exploitation by honoring her, not the memory of a restaurant.

This press release was produced by the City of Smyrna. The views expressed here are the author’s own.