Background
Growth of Atlanta
After the end of the American Civil War and during the Reconstruction era, there was violence of whites against blacks throughout the South, as whites reacted to emancipation of blacks, accusations of black criminality, and political empowerment of freedmen, specifically gaining the voting franchise which led to political power and representation. Having former slaves become equals was threatening to their ideals of racial supremacy. Increased tension also resulted from whites competing with blacks for wages, and the idea of paying for labor which had been free for centuries. Atlanta had developed rapidly, attracting workers for its rebuilding and, particularly from the 1880s as the "rail hub" of the South: workers from all over the country began to flood the city. This resulted in a dramatic increase in both the African-American population (9,000 in 1880 to 35,000 in 1900) and the overall city population (from a population of 89,000 in 1900 to 150,000 in 1910) as individuals from rural areas and small towns sought better economic opportunities. Steinberg, Arthur K. "Atlanta Race Riot (1906)." ''Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History'': ''An Encyclopedia''African-American advancements
Freedmen and their descendants had gained theEvents
''The Clansman'' and tensions
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On_Saturday_afternoon,_September_22,_1906,_Atlanta_newspapers_reported_four_sexual_assaults_on_local_white_women,_allegedly_by_black_men._A_grand_jury_later_indicted_two_for_the_rape_of_Ethel_Lawrence_and_her_niece,_Mabel_Lawerence._Following_this_report,_several_dozen_white_men_and_boys_began_gathering_in_gangs,_and_began_to_beat,_stab,_and_shoot_black_people_in_retaliation,_pulling_them_off_or_assaulting_them_on_streetcars,_beginning_in_the_ .html"_;"title="Thomas_Dixon,_Jr..html"_;"title="y_Thomas_Dixon,_Jr.">y_Thomas_Dixon,_Jr.">Thomas_Dixon,_Jr..html"_;"title="y_Thomas_Dixon,_Jr.">y_Thomas_Dixon,_Jr.in_Atlanta_as_a_contributing_factor_to_that_city's_race_riot_of_1906,_in_which_white_mobs_rampaged_through_African-American_communities."_In_Savannah,_Georgia">Savannah_Newspaper_report_and_attacks
On_Saturday_afternoon,_September_22,_1906,_Atlanta_newspapers_reported_four_sexual_assaults_on_local_white_women,_allegedly_by_black_men._A_grand_jury_later_indicted_two_for_the_rape_of_Ethel_Lawrence_and_her_niece,_Mabel_Lawerence._Following_this_report,_several_dozen_white_men_and_boys_began_gathering_in_gangs,_and_began_to_beat,_stab,_and_shoot_black_people_in_retaliation,_pulling_them_off_or_assaulting_them_on_streetcars,_beginning_in_the_Five_Points,_Atlanta">Five_Points_section_of_downtown._After_extra_editions_of_the_paper_were_printed,_by_midnight_estimates_were_that_10,000_to_15,000_white_men_and_boys_had_gathered_through_downtown_streets_and_were_roaming_to_attack_black_people._Newspaper_report_and_attacks
On_Saturday_afternoon,_September_22,_1906,_Atlanta_newspapers_reported_four_sexual_assaults_on_local_white_women,_allegedly_by_black_men._A_grand_jury_later_indicted_two_for_the_rape_of_Ethel_Lawrence_and_her_niece,_Mabel_Lawerence._Following_this_report,_several_dozen_white_men_and_boys_began_gathering_in_gangs,_and_began_to_beat,_stab,_and_shoot_black_people_in_retaliation,_pulling_them_off_or_assaulting_them_on_streetcars,_beginning_in_the_Five_Points,_Atlanta">Five_Points_section_of_downtown._After_extra_editions_of_the_paper_were_printed,_by_midnight_estimates_were_that_10,000_to_15,000_white_men_and_boys_had_gathered_through_downtown_streets_and_were_roaming_to_attack_black_people._Defense_attempts
On_Sunday_a_group_of_African_Americans_met_in_the_Brownsville_community_south_of_downtown_and_near_Clark_Atlanta_University.html" "title="ecatur_Street_(Atlanta).html" ;"title="Five_Points,_Atlanta.html" ;"title="Macon,_Georgia.html" ;"title="Savannah,_Georgia.html" "title="Thomas_Dixon,_Jr..html" ;"title="Thomas_Dixon,_Jr..html" ;"title="y Thomas Dixon, Jr.">y Thomas Dixon, Jr.">Thomas_Dixon,_Jr..html" ;"title="y Thomas Dixon, Jr.">y Thomas Dixon, Jr.in Atlanta as a contributing factor to that city's race riot of 1906, in which white mobs rampaged through African-American communities." In Savannah, Georgia">Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...Newspaper report and attacks
On Saturday afternoon, September 22, 1906, Atlanta newspapers reported four sexual assaults on local white women, allegedly by black men. A grand jury later indicted two for the rape of Ethel Lawrence and her niece, Mabel Lawerence. Following this report, several dozen white men and boys began gathering in gangs, and began to beat, stab, and shoot black people in retaliation, pulling them off or assaulting them on streetcars, beginning in the Five Points, Atlanta">Five Points section of downtown. After extra editions of the paper were printed, by midnight estimates were that 10,000 to 15,000 white men and boys had gathered through downtown streets and were roaming to attack black people. By 10 pm, the first three blacks had been killed and more were being treated in the hospital (at least five of whom would die); among these were three women. Governor Joseph M. Terrell called out eight companies of the Fifth Infantry and one battery of light artillery. By 2:30 am, some 25 to 30 blacks were reported dead, with many more injured. The trolley lines had been closed before midnight to reduce movement, in hopes of discouraging the mobs and offering some protection to the African-American neighborhoods, as whites were going there and attacking people in their houses, or driving them outside."ATLANTA MOBS KILL TEN NEGROES; Maybe 25 or 30 --- Assaults on Women the Cause; SLAIN WHEREVER FOUND; Cars Stopped in Streets, Victims Torn from Them; MILITIAMEN CALLED OUT; Trolley Systems Stopped to Keep the Mob from Reaching the Negro Quarter"Defense attempts
On Sunday a group of African Americans met in the Brownsville community south of downtown and near Clark Atlanta University">Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research universities in th ...The best way to prevent a race riot depends entirely upon the cause. If your inquiry has anything to do with the present situation in Atlanta then I would say the only remedy is to remove the cause. As long as the black brutes assault our white women, just so long will they be unceremoniously dealt with."THE ATLANTA RIOTS"He had gone around the city on Saturday night trying to calm the mobs, but was generally ignored.
(September 25, 1906) ''New York Times''
Aftermath
Grand Jury
On September 28, ''The New York Times'' reported,The Fulton County Grand Jury today made the following presentment:
"Believing that the sensational manner in which the afternoon newspapers of Atlanta have presented to the people the news of the various criminal acts recently committed in this county has largely influenced the creation of the spirit animating the mob of last Saturday night; and that the editorial utterances of ''The Atlanta News'' for some time past have been calculated to create a disregard for the proper administration of the law and to promote the organization of citizens to act outside of the law in the punishment of crime; ...''Resolved'', That the sensationalism of the afternoon papers in the presentation of the criminal news to the public prior to the riots of Saturday night... deserves our severest condemnation..."
Total fatalities
An unknown and disputed number of African Americans were killed in the conflict. At least two dozen African Americans were believed to have been killed. It was confirmed that there were two white deaths, one a woman who died of a heart attack after seeing mobs outside her house.Discussions
On the following Monday and Tuesday, leading citizens of the white community, including the mayor, met to discuss the events and prevent any additional violence. The group included leaders of the black elite, helping establish a tradition of communication between these groups. But for decades the massacre was ignored or suppressed in the white community, and left out of official histories of the city.Responses
''The New York Times'' noted on September 30 that a letter writer to the Charleston ''Separation of the races is the only radical solution of the negro problem in this country. There is nothing new about it. It was the Almighty who established the bounds of the habitation of the races. The negroes were brought here by compulsion; they should be induced to leave here by persuasion."DEPORTING THE NEGROES"The New York Times analyzed the populations of the ten states in the South with the most African Americans, two of which were majority black, with two others nearly equal in populations, and African Americans totaling about 70% of the total white population. It noted practically the difficulties if so many workers would be lost, in addition to their businesses. As an outcome of the massacre, the African-American economy suffered, because of property losses, damage, and disruption. Some individual businesses were forced to close. The community made significant social changes, pulling businesses from mixed areas, settling in majority-black neighborhoods (some of which was enforced by discriminatory housing practices into the 1960s), and changing other social patterns. In the years after the massacre, African Americans were most likely to live in predominately black communities, including those that developed west of the city near
(September 30, 1906) ''New York Times''
Remembrance
The massacre was not covered in local histories and was ignored for decades. In 2006, on its 100th anniversary, the city and citizen groups marked the event with discussions, forums and related events such as "walking tours, public art, memorial services, numerous articles and three new books." The next year, it was made part of the state's social studies curriculum for public schools.Representation in other media
*The film documentary ''When Blacks Succeed: The 1906 Atlanta Race Riot'' (2006) by Norman and Clarissa Myrick Harris was produced by One World Archives and won awards. *Thornwell Jacobs wrote a novel, ''The Law of the White Circle'', set during the 1906 massacre. It has a foreword written by historianSee also
*References
Bibliography
* * * * *Case, Sarah. “1906 Race Riot Tour,” ''Journal of American History'' 101, no. 3 (December 2014): 880-882. *Crowe, Charles. “Racial Massacre in Atlanta, September 22, 1906,” ''Journal of Negro History'' 54, no. 2 (April 1969): 150-173. * Crowe, Charles. "Racial Violence and Social Reform-Origins of the Atlanta Riot of 1906." ''Journal of Negro History'' 53.3 (1968): 234-256External links