[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 790 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 790

 Condemning the atrocities that occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1906, 
  in which White supremacist mobs brutalized, terrorized, and killed 
dozens of Black Americans, and reaffirming the commitment of the Senate 
          to combating hatred, injustice, and White supremacy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 21, 2022

 Mr. Ossoff submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Condemning the atrocities that occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1906, 
  in which White supremacist mobs brutalized, terrorized, and killed 
dozens of Black Americans, and reaffirming the commitment of the Senate 
          to combating hatred, injustice, and White supremacy.

Whereas the horrific act of lynching impacted race relations in the United 
        States and shaped the geographic, political, social, and economic 
        conditions of Black people in ways that are still relevant today;
Whereas more than 4,400 Black people were lynched across 20 States between 1877 
        and 1950, 594 of whom were Black victims in Georgia and 36 of those 
        documented victims were killed in Fulton County;
Whereas, until 1906, Atlanta, Georgia, was home to more than 50,000 Black 
        residents, many of whom owned homes and businesses in the city;
Whereas, on September 22, 1906, at 9 p.m., 10,000 White men and boys gathered at 
        the corner of Pryor and Decatur Streets, an area known as Five Points in 
        downtown Atlanta;
Whereas the mob was motivated by the media's false coverage of Black men 
        brutalizing White women;
Whereas city officials, which included Mayor James G. Woodward, attempted to 
        calm the crowds but failed to do so;
Whereas, going through Decatur Street, Pryor Street, Central Avenue, and 
        throughout the central business district, assaulting hundreds of Black 
        people, the mob of White men and boys continued to hunt and kill 
        Atlanta's Black residents into the night;
Whereas, in an attempt to control the mob, Mayor Woodward called the fire 
        department out to disperse the mob using large streams of water, but the 
        mob quickly regathered and continued to shoot and stone Atlanta's Black 
        residents;
Whereas, by Monday, September 24, 1906, what is now known as Downtown Atlanta, 
        was under military rule;
Whereas the massacre continued, with plans to move outside of the city and into 
        Brownsville, a Black community south of downtown with about 1,500 
        residents;
Whereas the community gathered to prepare and fight back, and with great fear of 
        a counterattack they were disarmed by State Troops, and more than 250 
        African-American men were arrested;
Whereas, through the duration of the massacre, armed Black residents defended 
        their neighborhoods, both in Brownsville and in Dark Town;
Whereas at least 25 Black residents were murdered, 2 White men were killed, 
        hundreds of Black residents were wounded, and thousands of Black 
        businesses and homes were burned or destroyed;
Whereas the story of the Atlanta race massacre is only 1 of many such atrocities 
        and horrific incidents, and shows the lasting impact of White supremacy 
        in the United States; and
Whereas the theft of property from Black landowners as well as the displacement 
        caused by the terrorizing of the Black community in Atlanta, Georgia, 
        shows how historic racism and injustice have significantly contributed 
        to persistent wealth inequality between Black and White Americans in the 
        United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the actions of the White supremacist mobs that 
        drove out Black residents of Atlanta, Georgia;
            (2) honors the memory of the victims and acknowledges the 
        lasting impact that this incident has had on the Black 
        community of Atlanta, Georgia;
            (3) expresses support for the designation of a national day 
        of remembrance for the victims of forced migrations of Black 
        Americans throughout United States history; and
            (4) reaffirms the commitment of the Federal Government to 
        combat White supremacy and seek reconciliation for racial 
        injustice.
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