The Story
Four Days That Changed Atlanta Forever
In September 1906, one of the deadliest episodes of racial violence in American history unfolded in Atlanta, Georgia. For four harrowing days, white mobs terrorized the city's Black community, leaving at least 25 people dead and countless others wounded.
The massacre was sparked by false and inflammatory newspaper stories. What followed was a brutal assault on Black prosperity, dignity, and life itself. At least 25 people were killed, though the true number remains unknown—a gap in the historical record that speaks to the erasure that followed the violence.
But this documentary tells more than a story of violence and terror. It illuminates the remarkable resilience and leadership that emerged in response—the call and response that would shape Atlanta's future and inspire generations to come.
"Red was the midnight; clang, crack and cry of death and fury filled the air and trembled underneath the stars when church spires pointed silently to Thee."
— W.E.B. Du Bois, Litany of Atlanta
