Georgia’s Way

Braxton Thomas

Georgia’s Way is a short documentary focusing on my grandmother, Georgia R. Wheeler. The film focuses on her childhood and experiences growing up in Webb, Mississippi, located in the Delta region of the state. Via telephone interviews, she talks about the changes Webb has gone through since she was a child and how it’s a “ghost town” compared to what it used to be. Through this work, I amplify the voice of a Black woman who spent her life in the South navigating the workings of Jim Crow. I highlight the intersection of class, race and gender and how that tends to shape experiences for Black women, especially in the South.

Braxton Wheeler Thomas is a native of Tupelo, Mississippi who currently resides in Arlington, Virginia. She is the staff assistant in the Office of Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), and a first year M.A. student in the Southern Studies program at the University of Mississippi.

Braxton earned a B.A. in history from Millsaps College where she served as a research assistant for the Kellogg Foundation working to incorporate the Civil Rights Movement into Jackson Public School District’s lesson plans. Her interests include: civil rights, race relations, southern politics, and oral history. Braxton is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and a graduate assistant in the Office of Community Engagement at the University.