Remembering the Atlanta Student Movement’s fight for desegregation

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October 19th, 2023

In this Oct. 19, 1960 file photo, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. under arrest by Atlanta Police Captain R.E. Little, left rear, passes through a picket line outside Rich's Department Store, in atlanta. On King's right are Atlanta Student Movement leader Lonnie King and Spelman College student Marilyn Pryce. Holding the sign is Spelman student activist Ida Rose McCree. Following the publication of "An Appeal for Human Rights" on March 9, 1960, students at Atlanta's historically black colleges waged a nonviolent campaign of boycotts and sit-ins protesting segregation at restaurants, theaters, parks and government buildings. (AP Photo, File)

Thursday marks a pivotal moment in Atlanta’s history.  

More than 60 years ago, on Oct. 19, 1960, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Atlanta Student Movement participated in a protest to desegregate the Rich’s Department Store in downtown Atlanta.

We revisit Rose Scott’s 2018 conversation with organizer Dr. Lonnie King, Jr.  At the time of the conversation, Scott visited King at his home in southwest Atlanta. He reflects on his life and his ongoing fight for civil rights.

Click here to find Scott’s full conversation with Atlanta Student Movement members Charles Black, Morris Dillard, Dr. Lonnie King, Dr. Gwendolyn Middlebrooks, Professor Emerita of Spelman College, and Dr. Roslyn Pope.

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