October 9, 2025
Residents voiced concern at a public forum Oct. 6 demanding a redesign.
A recently installed mural commemorating the 1906 Atlanta race massacre has sparked backlash from South Atlanta community members, who say its violent depiction and lack of neighborhood consultation do more harm than healing. Residents voiced concern at a public forum on Oct. 6, demanding a redesign.
The mural, painted by local artist Fabian Williams and commissioned by the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, stands on a building operated by Focused Community Strategies. The piece portrays Black citizens reconstructing a home. However, an angry white mob is centrally displayed in the piece. A white man appears to be choking a Black man. The imagery is attributed to an early 20th-century French newspaper, Le Petit Journal. At the meeting, members stressed the image exaggerates violence and fails to capture historical nuance, Capital B reported.
At the community meeting moderated by the South Atlanta Civic League, Williams acknowledged his design underwent 19 iterations. He insisted he was ultimately constrained by direction from the commission and building owners.
“Telling the entire story in context changes the way you feel about something when you encounter it. Why did this happen? How did it stop? That’s the story I want to tell, but as someone who was commissioned to tell the story, how this ended was outside my control,” Williams said.
Marvin Nesbitt, president of Focused Community Strategies, apologized for the failure in communication with community members, stating, “We dropped the ball.”
Art historian R. Candy Tate, co-chair of the Coalition to Remember the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre, said the mural failed to align with the community’s legacy. She noted that while the Le Petit Journal images are dramatic, they misrepresent what happened in Brownsville.
More than highlighting the violent incident, Tate believes the mural fails to acknowledge the resilience of Black residents who resisted.
“This missed the mark,” she said.
The 1906 Atlanta race massacre involved a four-day wave of racial violence. During that period, multiple attacks on Black neighborhoods, destruction of property, and loss of life were endured by residents. At least 25 community members were confirmed dead, and many are uncounted. Residents at the meeting emphasized the need for a more collaborative approach going forward as they push for changes to the mural’s design and selection process.
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