What sparked the Atlanta Massacre of 1906, an attack by armed mobs of White Americans against African Americans in Atlanta, Georgia?
Renown African-American minister Francis James Grimké (1850-1937) provides answers in his short 12-page book titled "The Atlanta Riot."
In introducing his book Grimke writes:
"What was true of the apostle Paul is true to-day of our race in this country, especially in the southern section of it. We are in constant peril ; no one is safe for a moment. We are liable at any time to be shot down, to be brutally murdered. Character, intelligence, wealth, count for nothing. The most intelligent, the most respectable, the most industrious, the most law-abiding are in just as great danger as the most ignorant, the most vicious, the most indolent, the most lawless."
The events were reported by newspapers around the world, including the French Le Petit Journal which described the "lynchings in the USA" and the "massacre of Negroes in Atlanta," the Scottish Aberdeen Press & Journal under the headline "Race Riots in Georgia," and the London Evening Standard under the headlines "Anti-Negro Riots" and "Outrages in Georgia." The final death toll of the conflict is unknown and disputed, but officially at least 25 African Americans and two whites died. Unofficial reports ranged from 10–100 black Americans killed during the massacre.
The violence did not end until after Governor Joseph M. Terrell called in the Georgia National Guard, and African Americans accused the Atlanta Police Department and some Guardsmen of participating in the violence against them. Local histories by whites ignored the massacre for decades. It was not until 2006 that the event was publicly marked - on its 100th anniversary. The next year, the Atlanta massacre was made part of the state's curriculum for public schools.
