[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4916-S4917]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 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

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

                              S. Res. 790

       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;

[[Page S4917]]

       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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