Black History Month

Learn about black history and the story of the civil rights movement in Atlanta, the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. Join The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as we take a look at some of the most prominent individuals, events and stories that have impacted America, over the course of Black History Month.

Credit: Katelyn Myrick

Stop the presses? Savannah’s Black newspaper, the Tribune, prints on

Over its 150 year history, The Savannah Tribune, a Black-owned weekly, has overcome censorship, distribution challenges, an ill-timed closure, a legal challenge, even a fire.

Credit: Ronald Williams/AJC

How a stained glass church window in Atlanta changed this Pulitzer Prize winner’s life

The famed W.E.B. Du Bois and Martin Luther King Jr. biographer excavates his own complicated family story.

Credit: Jim Battles / AJC file

Atlanta’s first Black superintendent got entire city involved in education

Empowering children to reach their potential is a community-wide investment, Alonzo Crim said.

Credit: Henri Hollis

Elite Black servers say Atlanta’s fine dining scene offers opportunity

In interviews with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Black servers at three acclaimed fine dining restaurants discussed their experiences in Atlanta and elsewhere.

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The rise and reign of Atlanta’s Black mayors

Credit: Cornelius M. Battey

Atlanta Unveiled: How Black scholarship, movements and influences shaped Atlanta and America

It can be argued that even before the Harlem Renaissance, the concept of Black intellectualism was born right here in Atlanta.

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Crowns of glory: New exhibit spotlights hats worn by King family women

“When it comes to hats, it is a crown of glory. ... They are honestly symbols of both defiance and dignity.”

Credit: Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce

Reclaiming the narrative of Br’er Rabbit

Enslaved griots were the originators of the tales of Bre’r Rabbit, sharing adapted West African fables after long days working. "This is Black history," says one historian.

Credit: Eric Pace

Georgia native establishes first Black-owned record label in 1921

Before LaFace Records and So So Def Recordings, there was Black Swan Records, a record company by Georgian Harry Pace that released music by Black artists for Black listeners.

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H.J. Russell helped build Atlanta. His family is expanding that legacy

Credit: Olivia Bowdoin

Carrie Steele: ‘Mother of Orphans’

In 1888, struck by the number of orphans she was continuing to find around Atlanta, she founded the Carrie Steele Orphans Home.

Credit: Alyssa Pointer

‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’: Whether anthem or hymn, song evokes pride

Often referred to as the Black National Anthem and composed more than a century ago, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” came along after Reconstruction, when a newly awakened black r

‘Daddy Loves You’: Gil Scott-Heron’s son talks about life lessons from his iconic father

Nearly 14 years after Gil Scott-Heron's death, his son is determined to protect his legacy and to make sure younger generations hear his messages.

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Become a UATL member.

Tap in to UATL, the source for Black culture in Atlanta.

Atlanta & Georgia

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A Homegoing to Remember

Willie Watkins honors the dead with funerals that celebrate Black lives with dignity and flourish.

The past was bright but the future looks bleak for Herndon Stadium

Herndon Stadium was one of HBCU football's most storied venues, even hosting Olympic events, before Morris Brown College was forced to sell it. Now it might be demolished.

After 37 years, Atlanta’s OG graffiti crew resurfaces

Operating in the early 1980s when graffiti was a bad word, United Kings was the city’s first graffiti crew.

History

Credit: University of Southern California’s HMH Moving Image Archive

Why an early silent film kiss between two Black actors is so important

The 1898 silent film "Something Good - Negro Kiss" is thought to be the earliest known cinematic depiction of intimacy between Black actors.

Georgia’s 12-string master left a lasting musical legacy

Blind Willie McTell, the Georgia-born 12-string guitar bluesman, recorded dozens of songs in the 1920s and 1930s, and is a member of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

Atlanta’s Black Streaks reached top of early 20th century motorcycle racing

Atlanta's Black Streaks were Black motorcycle racers who raced the tracks at Atlanta Motordrome and Lakewood Speedway more than 100 years ago.

Arts & Music

Credit: Ric Watkins / AJC

Georgia’s Mount Rushmore of music

James Brown, Ray Charles, Otis Redding and Little Richard all came out of poverty, changing the world with soulful music. They are Georgia's Mount Rushmore.

The legend of Mattiwilda Dobbs

Atlanta native Mattiwilda Dobbs, aunt of Maynard Jackson, was one of the first African-American opera singers to perform on major stages around the world.

The museums at Atlanta’s HBCUs are treasure troves of Black art

The art museums of Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College, two of the HBCUS in Atlanta, are treasure troves, including works by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Hale Woodruff, Eliza...

Resistance

Credit: Courtesy Cecil Williams

Cecil Williams’ high-risk drink of water

Cecil Williams: how his defiant photo at a white water fountain changed him and defined a movement.

Black hairstyles take a stand against white beauty standards

Since the 1930s, Atlanta hairstylists and beauty influencers have made the city a hub for the celebration and preservation of Black hair culture and its history.

Black gays practice resistance daily being their authentic selves

SUNDAY LIVING: 021923 BHM Peon Resist – In 1921, a white farmer and a black man who worked for him were convicted in the murders of 11 black men in Newton County.

Health

Credit: Jenni Girtman

Black women, long ignored in infertility discussions, speak out

Black women are more likely to face infertility issues than white women, studies show.

Despite progress, HIV remains disproportionately Black in Georgia

Though African Americans make up only about 32 percent of the state’s population, around 71 percent of the roughly 2,500 Georgians who were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2019 we...

Study: Toxins in blood of Brunswick residents who live near factories

As some Superfund sites around Brunswick, Georgia, are clearned up, a team of Emory scientists have found evidence of contaminants in some residents' blood.

Trauma

Tulsa Race Riots: White mobs reduced Black community to rubble in 1921

The story of the Tulsa race massacre from 1921: The Greenwood neighborhood, a Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma once nicknamed the Negro Wall Street, because of its thriving

To My Old Master

‘The Weeping Time’: Largest sale of enslaved blacks in U.S. history

In 1859, Pierce Mease Butler decided to sell 436 enslaved African Americans who worked his plantations in order to settle his massive debts.

The Black Woman

Credit: Stephen B. Morton for The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Novelist Tina McElroy Ansa was a trailblazer at The Atlanta Constitution

Tina McElroy Ansa became the first Black woman to be hired at The Atlanta Constitution newspaper in 1971.

In Atlanta and across U.S., legacy of ‘Queen of Salsa’ as strong as ever

The inimitable Celia Cruz helped popularize Afro-Caribbean rhythms – and Spanish-language music overall. But to one metro Atlanta rwoman, she was just "tia."

‘Sister President’ Johnnetta Betsch Cole: The voice of Spelman

Author Tayari Jones writes about Johnnetta Cole. As a first year student, Jones recalls being transfixed and transformed by the college’s first Black woman president.

The Black Man

Credit: National Library of France

The long, sad ride of Major Taylor

The story of pioneering Black cyclist Major Taylor. the first authentic and recognized Black sports superstar in America.

Lo Jelks, Atlanta’s first Black television reporter

When Lorenzo Jelks joined WSB-TV in 1967, the station didn't show his face on air to avoid angering many white viewers.

Tiger Flowers: Trailblazing southpaw left indelible legacy on Atlanta

Long before Evander Holyfield, Atlanta had another champion who helped put the city’s boxing scene on the map.

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Black History Month

Stop the presses? Savannah’s Black newspaper, the Tribune, prints on

How a stained glass church window in Atlanta changed this Pulitzer Prize winner’s life

Atlanta’s first Black superintendent got entire city involved in education

Elite Black servers say Atlanta’s fine dining scene offers opportunity

The rise and reign of Atlanta’s Black mayors

Atlanta Unveiled: How Black scholarship, movements and influences shaped Atlanta and America

Crowns of glory: New exhibit spotlights hats worn by King family women

Reclaiming the narrative of Br’er Rabbit

Georgia native establishes first Black-owned record label in 1921

H.J. Russell helped build Atlanta. His family is expanding that legacy

Carrie Steele: ‘Mother of Orphans’

‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’: Whether anthem or hymn, song evokes pride

‘Daddy Loves You’: Gil Scott-Heron’s son talks about life lessons from his iconic father

Atlanta & Georgia

A Homegoing to Remember

The past was bright but the future looks bleak for Herndon Stadium

After 37 years, Atlanta’s OG graffiti crew resurfaces

History

Why an early silent film kiss between two Black actors is so important

Georgia’s 12-string master left a lasting musical legacy

Atlanta’s Black Streaks reached top of early 20th century motorcycle racing

Arts & Music

Georgia’s Mount Rushmore of music

The legend of Mattiwilda Dobbs

The museums at Atlanta’s HBCUs are treasure troves of Black art

Resistance

Cecil Williams’ high-risk drink of water

Black hairstyles take a stand against white beauty standards

Black gays practice resistance daily being their authentic selves

Health

Black women, long ignored in infertility discussions, speak out

Despite progress, HIV remains disproportionately Black in Georgia

Study: Toxins in blood of Brunswick residents who live near factories

Trauma

Tulsa Race Riots: White mobs reduced Black community to rubble in 1921

To My Old Master

‘The Weeping Time’: Largest sale of enslaved blacks in U.S. history

The Black Woman

Novelist Tina McElroy Ansa was a trailblazer at The Atlanta Constitution

In Atlanta and across U.S., legacy of ‘Queen of Salsa’ as strong as ever

‘Sister President’ Johnnetta Betsch Cole: The voice of Spelman

The Black Man

The long, sad ride of Major Taylor

Lo Jelks, Atlanta’s first Black television reporter

Tiger Flowers: Trailblazing southpaw left indelible legacy on Atlanta

How a brotherhood of sleeping car porters shaped Black America’s middle class

Despite challenges, Georgia’s Black architects make their mark on Atlanta

‘Unveiled’: AJC Black History Month series turns 10

Why OutKast’s ‘Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik’ album is crucial Black history

‘Photo Griot’: Sue Ross has chronicled Black Atlanta’s ‘regular family people’

Atlanta has a long history of Black girl groups. What happened to the sound?

‘Old school’ Atlanta dance club has stood the test of time

A Homegoing to Remember

For many Black art collectors, it’s an investment in culture and history

A ‘fresh spring start’ for Atlanta’s Hammonds House Museum