Remembering the past

100 years ago there were riots that left upwards of 12 people dead in Atlanta, but few Tech students know about this part of the city's past. From Sept. 22-24, 1906, white mobs sought out, attacked and murdered many African Americans.

The Coalition to Remember the 1906 Atlanta Race Riots recently hosted several events to memorialize the riot's 100th anniversary. These events included a candlelight vigil, radio production and several lectures. Tech participated by hosting a round table discussion Sept. 28 to discuss and commemorate the events.

Some of Tech's scheduled panelists included Rebecca Burns, author of Rage in the Gate City; June Dobbs Butts, granddaughter of John Wesley Dobbs, an African American political leader in Atlanta during the riots; Larry Keating, an Architecture professor; Ronald Bayor, a professor of History, Technology and Society; Amanda Meng, a member of the Ivan Allen College Student Advisory Board; a Coalition representative; and descendants of the riots' victims.

"I've never even heard of the [riot]. It's important that we recognize it happened and learn more from it, since we live in this city and it happened here," said Tiffany Nettles, a second-year Aerospace Engineering major.

The events leading up to the riots created a political hotbed. Two gubernatorial candidates, Hoke Smith and Clark Howell, used African American disenfranchisement as a platform in the 1906 race.

Smith owned the Atlanta Journal and used it to espouse the necessity of ending African American suffrage in order to maintain white superiority.

Clark Howell, as editor of the Atlanta Constitution, fought back in his own periodical. He argued that white Democratic primaries and the poll tax were sufficient for preventing African American suffrage. The result was a barrage of newspaper columns arguing how best to keep African Americans from voting.

Attempting to boost circulation, the newly founded Atlanta News played into this political climate. It published a series of unsubstantiated stories about African American men assaulting and raping white women.

Atlanta Georgian and other newspapers published similar stories, and in just one week, 12 tales of African American men raping white women rode the headlines of Atlanta's newspapers.

On Sept. 22, 1906, Atlanta newspapers reported accounts of four assaults and violence erupted. By 9 p.m. that night, 10,000 rioters took to the streets.

A white mob coursed through Decatur Street, Pryor Street, Central Avenue and the African American business district. In their wake, they vandalized businesses and beat African Americans.

They trashed a barbershop and murdered the people inside. The mob ripped men, women and children from streetcars and beat them.

Walter White, former secretary of the NAACP, witnessed the events as a boy.

In his memoir, White wrote, "We saw a lame negro...pathetically trying to outrun a mob of whites...We saw clubs and fists descending to the accompaniment of savage shouting and cursing. Suddenly a voice cried, 'There goes another nigger!' Its work done, the mob went after new prey. The body with the withered foot lay dead in a pool of blood on the street."

When heavy rains came that night, several bodies lay mangled and beaten to death. Atlanta soon came under the control of state militia.

On Sunday, 6,000 troops patrolled the streets, and a temporary quiet led newspapers to report an end to the riots. Many African Americans still feared continued attacks and armed themselves.

That night, white mobs marched into African American neighborhoods and assaulted people in their homes.

On Monday, a group of African Americans gathered at Brownville, and when Fulton County police raided the meeting, gunfire erupted. A white officer was shot and killed.

Three companies of militia were dispatched to Brownville, and they arrested 250 African Americans. Soldiers were ordered to round up any possible weapons from inside African American homes.

Mob violence continued, but the coming days saw an armistice on both sides. The official death toll was 10 African Americans and two whites. However, it is widely accepted that many more African Americans died in the riot, but Atlanta attempted to preserve its reputation by only issuing 10 death certificates. In addition, hundreds of African Americans were badly beaten and thousands fled the city.

"It's essential to remember what happened, because I think people keep forgetting the lessons of the past. We need to make sure these mistakes will not be repeated in the future and treat everyone with equal respect," said Karen Melikov, a second-year Aerospace Engineering major.

"The effects of this event are still reverberating today. We still have racism and we still have hate crimes, so it's important to recognize what happened before if we are to address these issues now," Nettles said.