The Funeral of Charles Oatman Who Was Killed in an Augusta Jail; Augusta Race Riot Follws (5/12/70)

On Saturday, May 9, 1970, Charles Oatman, a sixteen-year-old African American, died in the Richmond County jail. Although his death was initially blamed on a fall from his cell bunk, the coroner and Oatman's father found signs of torture when they examined the body. The African American community in Augusta had repeatedly endured police brutality, wrongful arrest, and mistreatment in the county and city jails. Oatman's death outraged the community; that anger grew when instead of pursuing an investigation, Sheriff E.R. Atkins charged two of Oatman's cellmates, also black teenagers, in his death. On Monday, May 11, 1970, several local African American leaders marched to the Municipal Building and met with county officials. When Sheriff Atkins announced his charges, the large crowd of African Americans who waited outside during the meeting became angry. They tore down the Georgia flag, which at the time incorporated the Confederate battle flag, and burned it. The crowd moved downtown and the violence escalated from overturning garbage cans to throwing rocks at passing cars to pulling people out of cars and beating them. That afternoon and evening, more than fifty fires were set in businesses owned by white and Chinese merchants in the African American district. At about one o'clock in the morning Governor Maddox sent Georgia National Guardsmen and state highway patrolmen to Augusta. During the rioting that night, six African American men were shot in the back by policemen. Although there were claims of snipers during the rioting, no policemen, National Guardsmen, or patrolmen were shot by African Americans during the rioting. The next day, Augusta mayor Millard Beckum instituted a 9 pm to 5 am curfew that remained in place the rest of the week as guardsmen continued to patrol the street. There were fewer incidents. Elsewhere in the country, students and demonstrators had been shot and killed at Kent State in Ohio a week earlier and in Jackson, Mississippi three days later. Remembering The Augusta Civil Rights Riot, 50 Years Later The story is all too familiar: a Black teenager suspiciously dies in a county jail. Law enforcement's explanation of what happened doesn't line up with the boy's injuries. In response, people protest in the streets and, violence erupts. These events didn't happen last month. They happened in 1970 in Augusta, Ga. For two days, starting on May 11, 1,000 Black residents rebelled against the city's systemic oppression. More than 100 blocks of neighborhoods and businesses — about 7 miles — were ransacked and vandalized. Police killed six Black men. But, until earlier this year as a result of a podcast and the 1970 Augusta Riot Observation Committee's efforts to raise awareness, most people in Augusta weren't aware this happened. The event went unmentioned and at present remains omitted from the Georgia Encyclopedia of History. The Georgia Historical Society's director and staff say didn't event know about it until the committee's application for a state marker was submitted. News outlets do occasional anniversary pieces, but these are staid and seeming don't stick in anyone's mind. Some, like former Richmond County Superior Court Judge Bill Fleming Sr., felt it was unimportant. Sponsor Message "I don't know anyone knew why this so called riot took place," he said in a 2013 interview, prior to his death last year. "And I don't want to say that everybody who was involved in the riot was a thug, but a lot of them were just criminals who were out stealing, that's all." At the time, many of the city's white leaders claimed to be flummoxed by the violence. They described Black Augustans as happy and touted the good relations between Blacks and whites. But then Augusta College's student body president, Henry Allen Green, told Atlanta's WSB-TV News in May, 1970 that Augusta's white leaders had been willfully blind. Green, who died in 2014, was African American. "The Black people of Augusta are tired of being told that there is no racial problem here. Whereas our local officials have not seen a problem now our nation knows that Augusta has a problem," Green said. The problems were widespread. Data from the 1960 U.S. Census showed only 20% of Augusta's African American adults held high school diplomas. Several Black neighborhoods lacked sewerage and water. The city government had been putting off their infrastructure demands for nearly 20 years, according to City Council meeting minutes. But it was the death of 16-year-old Charles Oatman that pushed Black people past their limits. Oatman died in the Richmond County Jail on May, 9, 1970. Former City Councilman Grady Abrams said the teen was intellectually disabled and weighed about 100 lbs. "He should not have been in the county jail. He should have been out at Youth Development Center," Abrams said in a 2013 interview.