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its front doors. e plaque, placed in 2016, commemorates the incident and 15-plus people lynched in Middle Georgia from 1886 to 1922. In the book "Macon Black and White: An Unutterable Separation in the American Century," Middle Georgia State University history professor Andrew Manis notes the incident's ramifications included a particular black family leaving town. Elijah Poole witnessed the mob and decided to move his family to Detroit, where he became Eljah Muhammad, an early leader and major shaper of the black religious and political movement now known as the Nation of Islam. 'TEENAGE PART Y ' MEMORIES Douglass personally operated his theater until he died in 1940, bringing outstanding entertainment including little-known movies produced by black people for black audiences. He also played a role in the 40-theater eatre Operators Booking Agency. In his lifetime and after, the parade of films, stars and shows never slowed and included vaudeville greats and comedy stars such as Butterbeans and Susie, seminal jazz and blues artists like Ida Cox, Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey, and big band superstars such as Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington. As friends gathered in February to celebrate, the second most often recalled memory involved legendary disc jockey "King Bee" Hamp Swain's "Teenage Party," which began broadcasting live from the theater over WIBB-AM in 1958. If lore surrounding the Douglass has early, middle and modern periods, the program and its talent contests are good markers for the middle. "Teenage Party" was where a young Otis Redding got his start on IF MEMORIES ARE GHOSTS, THEN THE PLACE IS FULL OF NICE GHOSTS." -GINA WARD " the Douglass stage. But is it true the Douglass and "Teenage Party" banned him? Yes, but it wsan't malicious. Redding was barred from competing after taking 15 consecutive $5 first-place prizes to give others a shot at winning. Influenced by Macon's Little Richard, who didn't appear at the Douglass until later in life, Redding began there while other legends, like James Brown, enjoyed regular appearances on their way to international fame. e parade of entertainment continued until a slow decline affecting many downtown Macon businesses forced doors to close in 1977. Few realized a third period in the theater's history would arrive in the 1990s, bringing $2.3 million worth of restoration 46 maconmagazine.com | JUNE/JULY 2020