1906 Atlanta race massacre

Background

After the Civil War and Reconstruction, violence by whites against Blacks occurred throughout the South, driven by reactions to emancipation, accusations of Black criminality, and Black political empowerment. Atlanta grew rapidly as a rail hub, with its African American population rising from 9,000 in 1880 to 35,000 in 1900, and the overall city population increasing from 89,000 in 1900 to 150,000 in 1910. This influx strained race relations, and whites expanded Jim Crow segregation in housing and public transit.

Hoke Smith, publisher of the Atlanta Journal, stoked tensions during his 1906 gubernatorial campaign. Freedmen had gained voting rights during Reconstruction, but these were later curtailed, and whites resented the growing Black community and its political influence. Some Black residents, like barber Alonzo Herndon, built prosperous businesses serving white clients, which heightened class distinctions and competition for jobs. The police and fire departments remained exclusively white, as did most city and county government positions.

Events

The stage production of The Clansman in Atlanta is cited by historians as a contributing factor to the riot. On September 22, 1906, newspapers reported four sexual assaults on white women by Black men, including attacks on Ethel Lawrence and her niece Mabel Lawrence, an Englishwoman who lost an eye. That afternoon, dozens of white men and boys began gathering and attacking Black people, pulling them from streetcars in the Five Points area. By midnight, an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 white men and boys roamed downtown.

By 10 pm, three Black people had been killed and several more were hospitalized, including three women. Governor Joseph M. Terrell called out eight companies of the Fifth Infantry and a light artillery battery. By 2:30 am, 25 to 30 Black people were reported dead. Trolley lines were closed to reduce movement.

Alonzo Herndon's barbershop was among the first targets, its fittings destroyed. Black men were killed on the steps of the U.S. Post Office and inside the Marion Hotel. A large mob attacked Decatur Street, the center of Black restaurants and saloons, destroying businesses and assaulting anyone in sight. Mobs then moved to Peters Street. Heavy rain from 3 am to 5 am helped suppress the rioting.

Aftermath

The number of Black people killed ranges from 26 to 250, and white fatalities are also disputed, with some sources reporting 6 white deaths on Saturday and 2 on Monday, while others say only 2 whites died. Leading white community members, including the mayor, met with Black elite leaders to prevent further violence, establishing a tradition of communication. A letter writer to the Charleston News and Courier responded to the riots, and The New York Times analyzed the populations of ten Southern states with the most African Americans, noting the difficulties if so many workers were lost.

The community made social changes, pulling businesses from mixed areas and settling in majority-Black neighborhoods, some enforced by discriminatory housing practices into the 1960s. After the massacre, Black residents were most likely to live in predominantly Black communities west of the city near Atlanta University or in eastern downtown. Many Black businesses moved east, where the thriving district known as Sweet Auburn developed.

Representation in other media

WABE published an audio walk titled 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre Walking Tour, recorded with historian Clifford Kuhn. The documentary When Blacks Succeed: The 1906 Atlanta Race Riot (2006) by Norman and Clarissa Myrick Harris won awards. Thornwell Jacobs wrote the novel The Law of the White Circle, set during the massacre, with a foreword by historian W. Fitzhugh Brundage and supplemental materials by Paul Stephen Hudson and Walter White.