Atticus Greene Haygood was born in Watkinsville, Georgia on November 19, 1839, and graduated at Emory College in 1859.[2][3] He entered the ministry where he edited the Sunday-school publications of the Southern branch of the church. He edited the Wesleyan Christian Advocate (1878–82), served as president of Emory (1876–1884),[2][4] and was a General Agent of the Slater Fund, which assisted educational institutions for African Americans following Reconstruction.
Haygood declined an election as Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in 1882; but he accepted another election in 1890. Rev. T. H. Tyson established a newspaper for African Americans in Oklahoma in 1890 called Our Brother in Black, after one of Haygood's texts.[5] Perhaps his most enduring legacy comes from his famous "New South" sermon, preached on Thanksgiving Day in Old Church, Oxford Georgia. During the bitterness and hardships following the Civil War, Haygood called for a "New South," emphasizing "Let us stand by what is good and make it better if we can." Published in written form, Haygood's sermon text found a wide audience throughout the country, including in the North. One prominent New York businessman, George Seney, was so moved by Haygood's message that he donated money to Emory College, facilitating the construction of Seney Hall, one of Emory University's most historic buildings.
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