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Flashback to 1968: 50 years ago in Georgia

You'll never see I-285 like this in the daylight (or anytime, really) in 2018, but here it is in 1968. The airport was a bit smaller in those days, too, but parking was still no picnic. Like today, Atlanta had a soccer team. Then, it was the Atlanta Chiefs, which boasted Rookie of the Year Kaiser Motaung (left). 1968 was also the year that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. See here is the funeral procession in Atlanta. Among the many notables on hand for King's funeral was basketball gre
By Shane Harrison
March 8, 2018

It was a tumultuous year all over the world, and Georgia was not immune to the upheaval and tragedy. It was the year that both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated. Take a look back at that pivotal year in photographs.

Businesses in Midtown on Peachtree St., looking north toward 14th Street. Photo taken on Feb. 26, 1968

Credit: Joe McTyre/AJC

icon to expand image

Credit: Joe McTyre/AJC

Midtown looked a bit different 50 years ago.

Atlanta Civic Center on April 19, 1968.

Credit: Marion Crowe/AJC

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Credit: Marion Crowe/AJC

The Atlanta Civic Center was brand new.

Atlanta Chiefs soccer team photograph, July 1968.

Credit: Noel Davis/AJC

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Credit: Noel Davis/AJC

And Atlanta had a soccer team. So, sometimes, everything old is new again.

Check out the rest of our photos from 1968 here, and go to myAJC.com/flashback to see more of our Flashback photos series.

About the Author

Shane Harrison is the Arts & Entertainment editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and ajc.com. He has been with the AJC since 1990.

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