The City That Keeps Changing America不断改变美国的城市

Atlanta is a city that has been forged on the anvil of strife， that’s risen from the embers of the Civil War. It is a city with traditions both genteel and gritty， a place that is rising up out of its past to bring out the best of human endeavor. It is the quintessential Southern American city. Some might even call it the capital of the South， although plenty of Southerners from elsewhere would argue that point. There’s no denying， however， its place at the heart of the American story. Diverse and determined， Atlanta demands to be explored and understood on its own terms.

亚特兰大是一座经历战争锤打、诞生于美国南北战争余烬中的城市。这座城市兼具优雅和勇毅的传统，从过往中振奋而起，将人类奋进不辍的精神发挥到淋漓尽致。这是一座极具代表性的美国南部城市。有人可能甚至称其为美国南部之都，虽然美国南方很多其他地方的人并不赞同。而有一点不可否认，那就是亚特兰大在美国历史叙事中的核心地位。亚特兰大文化多元，人民百折不挠，其本身就是一个需要我们探索和了解的城市。

To get a sense of its historic importance， it pays to start at the Atlanta History Center， home to one of America’s most fascinating artworks： the Atlanta cyclorama. This epic painting， created by 17 German artists in Milwaukee in 1886， depicts the Battle of Atlanta， a pivotal moment in the war between the North and South. Forty-nine feet tall， weighing in at 10，000 pounds and longer than a football field， it’s the 19th-century equivalent of an IMAX cinema and no less dramatic. Painted to create the illusion of being never ending， it’s an immersive experience， putting the viewer right in the middle of the battlefield.

要了解这个城市的历史地位，先去亚特兰大历史中心看看能收获不少，那里有美国最引人入胜的艺术品之一：亚特兰大环形全景画。这幅壮丽的画作于1886年由17位德国画家在美国的密尔沃基市绘制，描绘了亚特兰大战役的场景，那是美国南北战争中一个关键节点。整幅画高49英尺，长度比一个橄榄球场还长，重达1万磅，是19世纪版的巨幕电影，而且精彩毫不逊色。绘画效果令其看上去无边无际，给人一种身临其境之感，仿佛就置身于战场上。

“The artists did a good job of simulating scale and fooling the eye， making you think that there’s more going on than there actually is，” says Gordon Jones， a Civil War expert who has spent his life studying the cyclorama. He points towards the realistic rendering of General Sherman， his likeness copied from a photograph of him on his horse， Duke.

“画家们出色地描绘出战场的广度，骗过了观众的眼睛，让人觉得正在发生很多画面里没有的事情。”戈登·琼斯说道，他是美国南北战争领域的专家，一生都在研究这幅亚特兰大环形全景画。他指向画中的谢尔曼将军，画得很逼真，形象取材于他的一张照片，照片上谢尔曼将军骑着他名叫公爵的战马。

Jones explains that when it was first painted in Milwaukee， the Atlanta cyclorama was designed to depict the Union’s victory over the Confederacy. However， when it came to Atlanta， it was recast as showcasing “the only Southern victory ever painted.” That despite the North winning the bloody battle when it took place in July 1864.

琼斯解释道，最初在密尔沃基创作这幅环形全景画时，本来想描绘的是北方联邦战胜南方邦联的场景，而当这幅画到达亚特兰大后，它被重新解读为唯一的南方获胜场景画作，尽管事实上是北方在1864年7月那场血腥战役中取胜。

The cyclorama offers visitors to Atlanta the chance to understand how the Civil War figures into the city’s history， more than 150 years on. “The Civil War is really part of the DNA of not only Atlanta， but all of the South，” says Jones. “It happened here on our soil， in the backyards of everybody who’s living here now. But it’s also super important because it defines the history of the United States from this point forward， particularly when it comes to matters of race， politics， economics， social justice.”

这幅环形全景画让来到亚特兰大的游客有机会了解到，150多年来美国南北战争如何成为这座城市历史的重要组成部分。“南北战争不仅在亚特兰大切实留下深刻的印记，对整个美国南部来说也是如此，”琼斯说道，“战争就发生在我们这片土地上，这里各家各户现在的院子都是曾经的战场。但这场战争至关重要还因为它勾勒了从此以后的美国历史，尤其是在种族、政治、经济和社会正义等问题上。”

The fight for racial justice

为种族正义而战

The consequences of Civil War can still be felt now and were especially resonant during the 1950s and 1960s， as the Civil Rights movement grew and spread across the entire country. By the middle of the 20th century there were two Atlantas， one black， one white. It was in the former where the driving force for change in America came from. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta on January 15， 1929. And whatever national or global influence and change he was able to effect， it was based on the values that he learned in this city.

南北战争的影响时至今日仍然可以感受到，尤其回响激荡在20世纪50和60年代，当时民权运动兴起并波及全美。到了20世纪中期，亚特兰大分成了黑人社群和白人社群，而美国国内变革的主导力量正来自于黑人社群。马丁·路德·金1929年1月15日出生于亚特兰大。无论在美国国内还是世界其他地方，他引起了怎样的影响与变革，都基于他在亚特兰特这座城市建立起来的价值观念。

Xernona Clayton was part of the movement that King led from Ebenezer Baptist Church. She first walked into that hallowed place in 1965 and became close with the man himself， seeing firsthand the change he was trying to enact as well as experiencing the prejudice that was the catalyst for much-needed change. “Black people had restrictions and I ran into it every place I went，” she says. “Ran into it. And it just hits you. Not in the face， but in the gut， because you know you’re not responsible for what you look like. I don’t want to be judged by what I look like.”

金在埃比尼泽浸礼会教堂发起运动，女演员泽诺娜·克莱顿参与其中。她第一次到这个圣地是在1965年，自此便与金成为了亲密伙伴，亲眼目睹他努力推行变革的过程，也亲身经历了针对黑人的种种偏见，这些偏见正是催化剂，促进了亟待进行的变革。“黑人总是受到限制，我到哪儿都能遇到这种事，”克莱顿说道，“每次遇到，都让人很痛，不是表面的痛，而是扎心的痛。因为肤色不是自己能决定的，所以不希望别人仅凭肤色来对我进行判断。”

Clayton was close with King’s wife Coretta. But beyond her relationship with the Kings， Clayton was and is a pioneer in her own right. She helped to desegregate Atlanta’s hospitals and in 1967 became the first black woman to host a prime time talk show in the South. At 90 years old， the fire within her still burns. “The philosophy of the hospitals needed to be changed. I’ve done a lot of things to help make that change，” she says. “But I was working with a man who said; ‘Do what you can. All the time. Change a man’s heart and you can regulate his behavior.’ That’s what I heard Martin Luther King say all the time.” Today， Clayton is an Atlanta icon， with strangers coming up to her in the street to thank her for her years of work.