Atlanta owns up to legacy of convict labor that rebuilt city

By MICHAEL WARREN
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — The official seal of the City of Atlanta shows a phoenix rising from the ashes of the Civil War. What it doesn’t show is that Atlanta was rebuilt with slavery’s successor: unpaid convict labor, working in horrific conditions to break granite at the Bellwood Quarry and burn clay at the Chattahoochee Brick Company. These companies’ owners grew wealthy and powerful on the backs of Black people unjustly convicted of petty crimes. Their fortunes seeded some of America’s largest corporations. Now the city is joining with advocates, foundations and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in launching a Truth and Transformation Initiative to reclaim and repair this shameful history.