Rage in the Gate City: The Story of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot
In 1906, white Atlantans, enraged by the prosperity of the city's black residents, rioted, killing African Americans and destroying their businesses, churches, and homes. Nearly all of Atlanta's black residents were descendants of slaves, making their progress to that point even more remarkable in a city that was beginning to savor its reputation as the metropolis of the South. Custom and Jim Crow laws kept the prosperity--and poverty--of black Atlanta and white Atlanta separate in parallel universes, but resentment crossed the barrier as a gubernatorial campaign placed race squarely in the public discourse. Candidates played on racial fears and hatred, with lurid coverage of alleged sex crimes by black men against white women, until they whipped whites into a fury that ended with 24 dead black Atlantans and 1,000 fleeing the city. In this detailed and riveting account, supplemented with photographs of the time, journalist Burns explores the social and economic factors that led to the riot, which has been downplayed in the history of a city that prides itself on racial harmony.Vanessa BushCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.