Macon Magazine

to u r sto p: MACO N maco n-b i b b Co u nty | Day two satu r day m o r n i n g Head 30 minutes south to "Where Soul Lives." Macon is a city designed around cotton culture and previously ruled in rail and road systems – meriting it as the heart of Georgia's transportation corridors. "I liked to y in and out of cities when I could," said lifelong trumpeter Newton "Newt" Collier, 78, who lives o Cherry Street, "but the Macon Depot often got us Black musicians of the Chitlin' Circuit where we needed to go." Slim, trim, and dapper, Collier (dubbed the "Dean of Macon Music") performed with some of the best in his youth: Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Johnnie Taylor. In 1967 alone, Collier played 385 shows. Now chubby-cheked but still full of Southern spunk and panache, Collier emphasized he and fellow performers relied heavily on "The Negro Travelers' Green Book" to navigate and access rural and urban restaurants, hotels, and service stations legally while traveling. "Those were stressful times," said Collier, who picked up a trumpet at age 10, trombone at 15. "The Chitlin' Circuit was our relief during segregation and allowed us to let our hearts out." D O Attend a matinee movie at the 1921-built Douglass Theatre at 355 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Macon's rst Black millionaire Charles H. Douglass – Collier's cousin – opened the iconic city auditorium. Legends like Little Richard and Lena Horne performed there. Take a photo with Collier's pavement plaque before also touring the Otis Redding Museum at 339 Cotton Ave. and Little Richard House at 416 Craft St. D I N E Before you get to start sightseeing, stop in at the H&H for a Midnight Rider biscuit and some legendary R&B and rock and roll history with your breakfast at 807 Forsyth St. For lunch, try VIBEZ, a Black-owned bar and grill with killer jerk chicken tacos, wings, and cocktails, just around the corner from The Douglass at 401 Cherry St. Or sightsee as you drive across downtown to 1530 Mercer University Drive for baked russet or sweet potatoes loaded with specialty toppings at Black-owned Georgia Potato Factory. Trumpet player Newton "Newt" Collier outside the Douglass Theatre. Historical marker at Little Richard's boyhood residence in Macon, Georgia. Macon, Georgia. Teen Night at The Roxy Theatre in Macon, Georgia, ca. late 1950s. Photo courtesy of the Middle Georgia Archives. June/July 2024 | maconmagazine.com 59 MACON

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