Archive Atlanta

This week I am sharing the first oral history recording I did, which happened in June of 2021. At the time of this recording, Wesley Johnson was 89 years old and his wife Patricia, a year younger. He was born and raised in South Atlanta, taking the streetcar, attending Booker T Washington and later David T Howard and then college at Morris Brown before joining the Air Force. Patricia joined us later in the conversation and gave us the juicy bits - like how they started dating and some incredible stories about the Fox, Lincoln Country Club and the Waluhaje. 
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Just over one month after NYC’s Stonewall Riot, Atlanta had its own version, when, on August 5, 1969, a movie at the Ansley Mall Mini-Cinema was raided by police. In this week’s mini episode, I’m covering what led to the raid, the details of the event and what it inspired going forward. 
Gayle Dose Podcast
Smithsonian Article
Atlanta History Center
Documenting Queer History Archives
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The Dixie Hills Riot, a days-long community uprising, born out of the frustrations of a whole host of issues that we’ll cover, happened exactly 55 years ago today. 
In 1950, Dixie Hills residents were without running water, paved roads and proper sewers. By the 1960s, 45% of the city’s population was Black, yet were only legally allowed to live in 22% of it’s housing. There was overcrowding, segregation, income inequality, unemployment, poverty - so many of the exact same issues we have today.
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Hey everyone! I am currently taking my yearly podcast summer break and using this time to finish new episodes, work on new ideas and record some amazing interviews. In the meantime, catch up on previous episodes and we'll be back on June 17th!
 

Forward Atlanta was a multi-million dollar marketing campaign launched by the City of Atlanta in the 1920s that is still influencing the city in 2022. I hope by the end of this short episode you can understand how important this campaign was, how it ties into the reason that Atlanta today is so quick to forget and suppress its past, and how we are still in the big business of selling our city to outside industry.
 
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While convict leasing, as a system, was abolished in Georgia in 1908, the chain gang era immediately followed and operated through 1955. Chain gangs installed water and sewer systems and smoothed and paved every. single. road you drive, bike, run or walk on today.
This week we’re covering the history of the chain gang, the Fulton County chain gang, the projects they worked on, the men and women they chained, beat and killed and the lasting legacy it left for us today.
 
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In September of 1896, Thomas finished dinner, told his wife not to wait up, and rode the streetcar to Lakewood Park. There, he rented a bathing suit and a row boat and ventured out onto the lake. That's the last time anyone would see him alive.
Was it an accident? Was it a suicide? Listen to find out all the Victorian-era true crime drama. 
 
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This week, I am covering the fascinating history of the Atlanta Humane Society, from the formation of the Atlanta Branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1871, to its reorganization as the Atlanta Humane Society in 1890.
 
The early AHS fought for the better treatment of hack and dray horses and mules, banishment of rooster and dog fighting, care for chickens being sold in markets, ending the practice of gifting chicks for Easter, humane euthanization methods for dogs, and ended the sale of chameleons, which were a fashionable hair accessory in the 1920s.
 
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With one of the most recognized mausoleums at Oakland Cemetery, Jasper Newton Smith spends eternity cast in stone looking over the cemetery. He purchased the plot 25 years before his death, and the casket 12 years prior, but those are the quirkiest part of his life story. Listen to this week's mini episode to learn about The House That Jack Built, the Bachelor's Domain and the failed Smith's House.
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This month, 105 years ago, the Great Fire of 1917 swept through Atlanta. Over the course of 10 hours, we lost 73 square blocks, more than 300 acres, 1938 buildings and 1900 homes. 10,000 Atlantans were homeless, which was 5% of the city’s population. 
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