Racial segregation in Atlanta
Racial segregation in Atlanta has known many phases after the freeing of the slaves in 1865: a period of relative integration of businesses and residences; Jim Crow laws and official residential and de facto business segregation after the Atlanta Race Riot of 1906; blockbusting and black residential expansion starting in the 1950s; and gradual integration from the late 1960s onwards.
High rents rather than laws led to de facto segregation due to simple economics, with most blacks settling into areas at the edge of the city like Jenningstown (pop.
Shermantown and Summerhill sat in low-lying areas, prone to flooding and sewage overflows, which resulted in outbreaks of disease in the late 19th century.
[4] The Fifth Ward, now the Fairlie-Poplar district and areas north of it, was home to the greatest number of blacks before the war, but dropped to third place (pop.
[4] Jim Crow laws were passed in swift succession in the years following the Atlanta Race Riot in 1906.
[5] Beyond this, blacks were subject to the South's racial protocol, whereby, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia:[6] The full extent of segregation in Atlanta included schools, neighborhoods, street repair, police and fire services, and politics is evident through the twentieth century.
Because even minor breaches of racial etiquette often resulted in violent reprisals, the region's codes of deference transformed daily life into a theater of ritual, where every encounter, exchange, and gesture reinforced black inferiority.On December 15, 1939, Atlanta hosted the premiere of Gone with the Wind, the movie based on Atlanta resident Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel.
The premiere was held at Loew's Grand Theatre, at Peachtree and Forsyth Streets, current site of the Georgia-Pacific building.
Noticeably absent was Hattie McDaniel, who would win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mammy, as well as Butterfly McQueen (Prissy).
The black actors were barred from attending the premiere, from appearing in the souvenir program, and from all the film's advertising in the South.
[8] Martin Luther King Jr. sang at the gala as part of a children's choir of his father's church, Ebenezer Baptist.
In the late 1950s, after forced-housing patterns were outlawed, violence, intimidation and organized political pressure was used in some white neighborhoods to discourage blacks from buying homes there.
Neighborhoods of new black homeowners took root, helping alleviate the enormous strain of the lack of housing available to African Americans.
Griffin was widely criticized by news media leading up to the game, and protests were held at his mansion by Georgia Tech students.
In the game's first quarter, a pass interference call against Grier ultimately resulted in Yellow Jackets' 7-0 victory.
Grier stated that he has mostly positive memories about the experience, including the support from teammates and letters from all over the world.
[15] In the wake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education, which helped usher in the Civil Rights Movement, racial tensions in Atlanta erupted in acts of violence.
[28] Certain areas of the city are predominantly black or white (See also Demographics of Atlanta:Neighborhoods):[29] Federal complaint filed with Dept of Education , after a Mother learnt her child's principal (Principal Sharyn Briscoe) was segregating children based upon their skin color.
