This week marks the 55th anniversary of the desegregation of Atlanta schools.

Nine black students were selected via a process to be the first to go to four all-white Atlanta schools. Through no riots and boycotts took place and the students attended without incident, their lives were not easy, as Atlanta Journal-Constitution blogger Maureen Downey reminds us.

The AJC also has gathered some memorable photos from that period and you can see them here.

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Travelers walk around the baggage claim in the South Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. Atlanta is among the airports where the FAA will reduce flights due to the shutdown, and airports are facing a shortage of air traffic controllers. 
(Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez