Undertold Stories

John Temple Graves was a New South orator, newspaper editor, and political figure, known for his influence on racial issues in the late 19th and early 20th century. His newspaper, the Atlanta Georgian, played a significant role in inflaming racial tensions that led to the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre. He was also one of the earliest proponents of carving the likeness of Robert E. Lee into the side of Stone Mountain as a memorial to the Confederacy.  

Christine King Farris, the eldest sister of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., not only played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement, but she also had an enduring commitment to education and preserving her brother’s principles of nonviolent social change.

Explore the history of Bagley Park, and its beloved mayor, William Bagley, through the personal collection of his granddaughter, Elon Butts Osby.

With improvised food, wine, and a makeshift Haggadah printed on Nazi flags, U.S. soldiers were able to celebrate Passover during WWII. The Seder was held in a former German school building with about 1,500 soldiers in attendance, including Jewish soldiers from other units. This celebration, held over a month before the end of the war, marked the liberation of Jews from Egypt and foreshadowed the liberation of the Jews from the concentration camp of Dachau a few weeks later.

Viola Ross Napier and Bessie Kempton Crowell made history as the first women to hold elected office in Georgia. As legislators they faced opposition and a political ceiling that made their journey difficult. Despite this, Napier and Kempton Crowell left a lasting legacy visible even today.

Morris Brown College, founded in 1881, has faced adversity throughout its history. Despite this, it has thrived and produced notable alumni in various fields. In 2002, the college lost its accreditation and faced bankruptcy, but after almost two decades of operating as an unaccredited institution, it regained its accreditation. Today, the college continues to persevere, with its doors open and its dream alive.

In 1912, Five Black people were arrested for sexually assaulting and murdering a white woman in Forsyth County. One of the five was lynched and the others received unjust trials. These events led white residents of Forsyth to force more than 1,000 Black residents to leave the county, creating the environment for a county that retains a majority –white population.

From Black professionals to the work of minority contractors, Atlanta History Center celebrates African American contributions to the establishment and growth of the institution.

From inventors to innovators, many remarkable Black Georgians have played a key role in changing the course of history through their pioneering work in science and technology. These brilliant minds have overcome obstacles and discrimination to make important contributions to society.

36 years ago, more than 15,000 people marched through Forsyth County during the Brotherhood March. Coinciding with the newly created Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the 1987 demonstration made national headlines when it brought attention to one of the last surviving sundown counties in Georgia.

In September 1906, a white mob brutalized and terrorized Atlanta’s Black residents, resulting in the deaths of 25 Black Atlantans, the wounding of hundreds of Blacks, and the destruction of many Black businesses and homes. This period of racial violence has been passed down in history as a race “riot,” but “massacre” may be a more apt term.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal, founded in 1870 in Jackson, Tennessee, was the first Protestant African American denomination established in the South. With more than 330 CME churches in Georgia alone, it has become one of the premier Christian denominations for African American worship and religious life.   

A 30-minute documentary film produced by Atlanta History Center that explores the history of the monument from all angles, including the origin of the carving, the complicated relationships between the carving and contemporaneous historical events, and the key players who worked for its completion. The film is meant to inspire deeper learning and constructive conversations about this monument and what it represents to many different people.

The Birth of a Nation’s success and wide distribution increased national interest in the post-Civil War Klan. In Atlanta, the film served as an inspiration and a guide for the leaders of two early 20th-century Atlanta organizations with close connections to Stone Mountain—the modern Ku Klux Klan and the United Daughters of the Confederacy.