Atlanta Through the Archives

Atlanta Race Massacre

Summary

An estimated 5,000 white men flood into Brownsville, attacking residents at random in response to a violent incident and recent sensational and falsified news articles about Black men who had committed sex crimes against White women.

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September 22, 1906.
At 10:15 PM, a violent incident occurred on Decatur Street near Pryor, leaving a white man stabbed at the hands of a black man. As the news spread quickly, a small group of about 50 gathered and began pursuing a black man near the scene. It is unknown whether this was the same man who was involved in the stabbing.

The pursuit ended in front of the Piedmont Hotel, the crowd now at least hundreds in size, where the man had sticks, bricks, and every other possible weapon thrown at him. The lone police officer on the street attempted to come to his aid, with little success. One man reportedly held a newspaper above the crowd that claimed black men were raping white women; these recent articles had drummed up violent sentiment which broke out in mob violence, with the stabbing on September 22nd as the trigger.

At midnight, the mob headed to Peters Street. As they moved through the city, they destroyed black-owned businesses and homes, including a hardware store, where they looted weapons and ammunition.

Shortly after, the crowd spotted Milton Brown, a black man who lived nearby. The crowd rushed him, throwing stones. He managed to briefly escape from the crowd, only to be shot from the many munitions which were just stolen. He was “literally torn to pieces” according to the Atlanta Journal’s article from the incident.

At 3 AM, a significant response was finally organized, with a state militia of 100 men that began patrolling the streets. Heavy rain also began to pour, assisting the militia in clearing the streets. Governor Terrell further called for eight companies of infantry and a battalion of light artillery.

25 black Atlantans were brutally killed and two white men were also left dead from the violence. Out of concern for their safety, many black residents left the city or segregated themselves into safe, black neighborhoods, like Auburn Avenue. To prevent future incidents, the Atlanta Way, an alliance between business elites and the black political class of the city, was created.

The Atlanta Race Riot was largely forgotten, or left undiscussed, in the history of Atlanta for over a century. Mark Bauerlein’s 2001 book, Negrophobia: A Race Riot in Atlanta, and Rebecca Burn’s 2011 book, Rage in the Gate City: The Story of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot, helped re-document this history. In 2006, the city of Atlanta officially recognized the massacre, and in 2007, it finally became part of the social studies curriculum for Georgia schools.

SOURCES:

Suggs, Ernie. “115 Years Ago, a Deadly Race Riot Reshaped Atlanta.” Atlanta Journal Constitution, September 21, 2021.

“In Race Riot Many Negroes Are Killed and Scores of Both Races Are Injured; Atlanta Under Control of State Militia.” Atlanta Journal, September 23, 1906, XXIV edition.