Rage in the Gate City: The Story of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot [Paperback]

Rebecca Burns (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 8, 2006

In September 1906, triggered by sensational newspaper accounts accusing black men of sexually assaulting white women, Atlanta’s simmering racial tension exploded. Over four days of rioting, mobs of violent whites killed at least 10 blacks, looted black-owned businesses, and ransacked homes and neighborhoods. In the days immediately following the riot, black and white leaders came together in an unprecedented move, setting the stage for Atlanta’s emergence as the “city too busy to hate” decades later. But while their business-first attitude may have quelled the most overt rhetoric and raging violence, it also reinforced class prejudices that existed in both the black and white communities.

Released on the 100-year anniversary of the riots, Rage in the Gate City provides a compelling narrative of the events during the month that shaped Atlanta and explores questions of race and class prejudice that are as relevant today as they were a century ago.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

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 Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

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 Bush, Booklist, November 15, 2006 (on the first edition)

The Atlanta Riot of 1906 was a tragedy fueled by misinformation and political ambition, but it ultimately led to the first steps of interracial cooperation that characterized progressive Atlanta for the next hundred years. . . . Perhaps if more Americans read Rage in the Gate City--the story of this important but often overlooked, chapter in Atlanta's history--it might save our nation from the painful repetition of these acts of hatred and violence. --U.S. Congressman John Lewis

Brings one of the city's most critical pieces of history to vivid and concise life. Although it is a slender volume, it tells a big story successfully and well. The seeds of Atlanta's racial comity and the roots of its racial travails are all here. --Steve Oney, author of And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Clerisy Press, Emmis Books (August 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578602688
• ISBN-13: 978-1578602681
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,470,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Rage in the Gate City, November 16, 2006

By 

M. Ludden - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rage in the Gate City: The Story of the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot (Paperback)

Compelling story of a complex and little known chapter in race relations in the South... and a fascinating look at 1906 Atlanta. "Rage in the Gate City" is wonderfully written, carefully researched and surprisingly shocking in its depiction of an eruption of racial hatred fanned by the city press.
It's an often painful look at a brutal series of riots, when whites killed dozens of blacks in retaliation for events that appear to have been widely misunderstood, and then sensationalized in the day's newspapers.
Nevertheless, the story is told with real sensitivity and respect. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a dramatic narrative and a meaningful look at a powerful moment in history.