# Understanding Senate Resolution 790: Condemning the 1906 Atlanta Race Riots

This resolution is the Senate's formal statement acknowledging and condemning the Atlanta Race Riots that happened in September 1906. During those riots, white mobs attacked Black neighborhoods and residents, killing dozens of people and causing widespread destruction and terror. The resolution recognizes these events as atrocities and expresses the Senate's commitment to fighting hatred, injustice, and white supremacy.

It's important to understand what this resolution actually does and doesn't do. This is not a law that creates new rules or punishments. Instead, it's a symbolic statement—the Senate going on record to say that what happened in 1906 was wrong and that the institution opposes the hatred and violence that caused it. Think of it like an official apology and acknowledgment from the federal government about a dark chapter in American history that was largely forgotten or ignored for many decades.

Who does this affect? Primarily, this matters to descendants of the 1906 Atlanta riot victims and to the broader Black community, as it represents official recognition of historical injustices. It also sends a message to all Americans about the Senate's stance against white supremacy and racial violence. While the resolution doesn't provide direct compensation or create new legal remedies, it serves an important purpose: it ensures that historical atrocities aren't swept under the rug and affirms that the government acknowledges and condemns the racism that fueled them. For many people, this kind of official recognition is a meaningful step toward accountability and healing, even if it's primarily symbolic rather than creating concrete changes.

A resolution condemning the atrocities that occurred in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1906, in which White supremacist mobs brutalized, terrorized, and killed dozens of Black Americans, and reaffirming the commitment of the Senate to combating hatred, injustice, and White supremacy.

Ossoff, Jon

 <p>This resolution condemns the actions of a White supremacist mob that drove Black residents out of Atlanta, Georgia in 1906 and supports the designation of a national day of remembrance for the victims of forced migrations of Black Americans.</p>