While the exact starting date has not been confirmed, family members agree that the Atlas family reunions began as early as the 1930s when the children of Louis Balfour/Bareford Atlas, Sr. would return home after they had left the rural south and moved to places in the midwestern, western, and northern United States (Great Migration). These impromptu reunions continued throughout the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s as family members would gather for Thanksgiving and also attend the Bayou Classic football game between Southern and Grambling Universities.
The first formal Atlas reunion took place November 14, 1972 in Lake Providence, East Carroll, Louisiana. The event was held at White’s Restaurant with approximately 40 family members in attendance. This reunion set the course for what would be consistently planned reunions taking place every two years. Reunion attendance continues to boom as more family members discover their lineage online.
Atlas Family Reunion Chronology
Lake Providence, LA – 1972
Lake Providence, LA – 1974
1976 – No reunion held
Los Angeles, CA – 1977
New Orleans, LA – 1979
Detroit, MI – 1981
New Orleans, LA – 1983
Memphis, TN – 1985
Milwaukee, WI – 1987
Lake Providence, LA – 1989
St. Paul, MN – 1991
Atlanta, GA – 1993
Los Angeles, CA – 1995
Lake Providence, LA – 1997
Milwaukee, WI – 1999
St. Paul, MN – 2001
New Orleans, LA – 2003
Detroit, MI – 2005
San Jose, CA – 2007
Chicago, IL – 2009
Baton Rouge, LA – 2011
Twin Cities, MN (St. Paul and Minneapolis) – 2013
Jackson, MS – 2015
Western Caribbean Cruise – 2017
Las Vegas, NV – 2019
Virtual Reunion – 2021
New Orleans, LA – 2022
Detroit, MI – 2024
- For reunion photos, please visit AtlasFamily.Org on Shutterfly.
- For reunion more videos, please visit AtlasFamily.Org on YouTube