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Shots in the Back: Exhuming the 1970 Augusta Riot

THERE IS GRAPHIC LANGUAGE IN THIS PODCAST AND CONTENT THAT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR SOME LISTENERS.

For 50 years, one of the South's only major Civil Rights Era riots has been forgotten. In a collaboration, students at the Jessye Norman School of the Arts join GPB in telling the story of the May 1970 uprising in Augusta, Georgia. The rebellion and the events that sparked it are tragically similar to what's happened more recently in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Ferguson, Missouri.

The immediate cause of the Augusta riot was the murder of Charles Oatman, an African American teenager held by police in the county jail. During the riot, six Black men were killed by white police officers, all of them shot in the back.

Much of Augusta’s black business district was also set ablaze, including many white and Chinese-American owned businesses. Some 1,500 members of the National Guard were called in to ease the unrest. Despite all the chaos, the riot has largely been forgotten, even in Georgia.

 

PRODUCTION TEAM:

Host and Reporter: Sea Stachura
Editor: Keocia Howard
Production Assistant: Rosemary Scott
Audio Mixer: Jesse Nighswonger
GPB's Director of Podcasting: Sean Powers
Graphic Designer: Brandon Williams 
Social Media Producer: Autumn Rose 
Interns: Cheniqua Dickens and Lars Lonnroth
Theme Music: Tony Aaron Music

Additional editorial support from Don Smith and Grant Blankenship, and additional reporting by the students at the Jessye Norman School of the Arts. Research support comes from Nefertiti Robinson, Corey Rogers at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History, Mallory Millender at Paine College and John Hayes at Augusta University. Archival material made possible by the WSB News film collection at the University of Georgia Libraries, and the Vanderbilt Television News Archive. Oral histories courtesy of Reese Library Special Collections at Augusta University. This podcast is funded in part by a South Arts grant.

Latest

Sea voicing Shots in the Back

Shots In The Back (Bonus): Telling The Story

Host Sea Stachura and editor Keocia Howard look back on the making of "Shots in the Back: Exhuming the 1970 Augusta Riot."

October 19, 2020
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Neal Blair, of Augusta, Ga., wears a hoodie which reads, "Black Lives Matter" as stands on the lawn of the Capitol building during a rally to mark the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March, on Capitol Hill, on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015, in Washington.

Shots In The Back (Episode 6): Was The Augusta Riot Worth It?

Was the Augusta riot worth it? Fifty years after the uprising, we look at the societal changes that it sparked, and what the Civil Rights Movement looks like today. 

September 14, 2020
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Students peer out of the bullet-riddled windows of Alexander Hall, a women's dormitory at Jackson State College in Jackson, Miss., after two African-American students were killed and 12 injured when police opened fire on the building, claiming they were fired upon by snipers, May 15, 1970. The shooting occurred after rioting broke out on the campus.

Shots in the Back (Bonus): No Peace, No Justice, 1970

In 1970, what happened in Augusta was actually part of a larger national story as campuses across the country were shut down due to protests. 

September 7, 2020
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Augusta riot

Shots In The Back (Episode 5): The Smoke Clears

We look at the days, months, and years after the 1970 Augusta riot. With families of "The Augusta Six" demanding justice, activism was at an all-time high. As white Augustans braced themselves for the possibility of more violence, Black activists worked for more immediate change.

August 30, 2020
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Students from the Jessye Norman School of the Arts, who are reporting for the podcast (l to r): Essence Willingham, Atticus Dillard-Wright, Kaleisha Sullivan, Jalia Burns, Aiden Allen, Thomas Collins, and Gabbie Stallings.

Shots in the Back (Bonus): All Cakes Should Be Equal

In this bonus episode of Shots in the Back, students from the Jessye Norman School of the Arts, who have been working on this podcast, share their fears about racism.

August 24, 2020
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Augusta riot

Shots In The Back (Episode 4): Shoot To Kill

Inside the chaos of the uprising, Black and white leaders were trying to quell the violence. As rioters set fire to white-owned businesses, police officers were told to shoot to kill. In this episode, we tell the stories of the six Black men killed by white police officers. The victims, who were all shot in the back, would go down in history as The Augusta Six.

August 9, 2020
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Firemen spray a stream of water on the burned-out shell of a grocery store in Augusta, Ga., May 12, 1970.

Shots In The Back (Episode 3): The Days Of The Riot

In this timeline of the 48-hour uprising in Augusta, we chart its chronological and geographic path. We hear about rioters who targeted Chinese-owned businesses, while police in armored personnel carriers patrolled the streets. The National Guard also surrounded Paine College, a historically black college.

July 27, 2020
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Fred McBrayer (right) was a vocational rehabilitation counselor, and he worked at the high school Charles Oatman (left) attended.

Shots In The Back (Bonus): People Called Him Charlie

A listener reaches out to share his memories of Charlie Oatman. Fred McBrayer was a vocational rehabilitation counselor in Augusta, who worked with Oatman at his high school.

 

July 21, 2020
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Members of the “Committee of Ten,” a group of Black civil rights activists in Augusta. This photo was taken a week before the riot. Pictured from left to right: Bill Berry, Rosa Clemons, Robert "Flash" Gordon, Leon Larue, Leon Austin, Grady Abrams, John Young, John Brown, Theodore "Teddy" Bowman, and R.L. Oliver.

Shots In The Back (Episode 2): A Lay Of The Land In 1970 Augusta

Why were Black Augustans so angry about Charles Oatman's death? Because it was a symbol for the myriad of other injustices and oppressions that they have dealt with everyday. This episode weaves together seemingly isolated issues that together stymied the progress and equality of Augusta's Black citizens.

July 13, 2020
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