Artist, historian named Miss Athelyne C. Banks Citizen of the Year
Mar. 27—A Decatur artist and historian received the 2025 Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce's Miss Athelyne C. Banks Citizen of the Year Award on Wednesday.
Frances D. Tate won the award for her dedication to preserving and sharing the history of Decatur's Old Town and for her commitment to community advocacy.
The award, presented each year at the chamber's annual meeting, is named after Banks, a longtime Decatur educator. Tate accepted the award before a packed house at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Decatur Riverfront.
"Decatur," Tate told the crowd, "we have a powerful story with all the correct ingredients where we all will be enriched in many ways, so we cannot and we must not pass up this opportunity to make our city, Decatur, continue to grow and prosper."
Tate grew up in Old Town and graduated from Lakeside High School before earning degrees from the Tuskegee Institute and Athens State University. She worked in the telecommunications industry for more than 35 years and, after retiring, worked for independent telephone companies across the country.
She said it was during these travels that she was inspired by how communities preserved their heritage. It inspired her to return to Decatur and try to honor the history of Old Town.
She founded Celebrating Early Old Town with Art, or CEOTA, a project dedicated to commemorating the neighborhood's legacy through research, storytelling and art. Her work includes locating and re-creating images of buildings lost during the 1970s urban renewal efforts. She incorporates water from the Tennessee River into her paintings to capture the churches, businesses and homes that once defined this historic neighborhood.
Beyond her art, her influence extends to the development of the Decatur Scottsboro Boys Civil Rights Museum, a multimillion-dollar CEOTA project dedicated to education and remembrance. A key part of this vision is the preservation of two historic homes tied to the Scottsboro Boys trials. One is a house where a witness who falsely accused the teens of rape is thought to have stayed during the 1931 Decatur trial.
The other is the former home of Judge James E. Horton, who presided over the Decatur retrials and ultimately overturned a death penalty verdict by an all-white Morgan County jury. In 2023, the Horton home was moved from Limestone County to Old Town, where it is slated to become a legal learning center.
Tate asked people to participate in the Civil Rights Museum through their expertise and finances.
"We want all of you to come along with us and enjoy the experience and excitement of the museum," she said.
She added that it is important to always remember that "today is tomorrow's history."
Tate said in a past Decatur Daily interview that the Old Town project is not about her.
"I'm just the vessel God chose to use," she said five years ago. "I feel like God puts you in the place you need to be at the time you need to be there to fulfill your purpose. This — rebuilding Old Town — is my purpose."
Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Crystal Brown said, "Frances Tate's passion for preserving and sharing the history of Old Town has made a lasting impact on our community. Through her leadership, vision and dedication, she continues to honor the past while shaping the future for generations to come."
In addition to her work with CEOTA, Tate serves on the Decatur Planning Commission and was instrumental in the adoption of the One Decatur Plan.
Banks — for whom the award is named — devoted 42 years to education, serving 29 of them with Decatur City Schools. She served as a teacher and the first female principal of Carver Elementary School.
Chamber members submitted nominations for the award, and applications were judged by a committee of past recipients.
Also on Wednesday, Jason Palmer, a State Farm insurance agent and member of the Decatur City Schools Board of Education, was named this year's commodore of the year. He and wife Misti have three children.
Kelli Powers, chief executive officer of Decatur-Morgan Hospital, was named the new chairwoman of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for 2025-2026.
— jean.cole@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2361
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