AJC Photo Archives: Protests in Atlanta through the years

Metro Atlanta

AJC Photo Archives: Protests in Atlanta through the years

AJC Photo Archives: Protests in Atlanta through the years

Atlanta has seen various protests, marches and demonstrations regarding a number of social issues, both national and local, throughout its long history. In this gallery of photos from the AJC and Georgia State University Digital Collection archives, we look back at how Atlantans have expressed themselves publicly through the years. In this 1966 photo, John Lewis (far right), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (third from right), his wife Coretta Scott King and Ralph David Abernathy (second from left) lead a march from Atlanta University to the Georgia State Capitol.

1988 -- A group calling for "Justice for Janitors" protests outside the Marriott Marquis hotel during the Democratic Convention in Atlanta.

1990 -- A group of about 300 people calling themselves ACT UP for AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power gathered at the Centers for Disease Control to protest its handling of women with AIDS; 100 were arrested.

1967 -- African-American picketers protesting school segregation walk a line outside of the Atlanta Public Schools building. Some called for Board of Education Superintendent John W. Letson to be removed from office.

1946 -- Black Atlantans picketed outside of City Hall, demanding integration of the police force.

1961 -- About 100 airline pilots converged on the Atlanta Air Terminal in their uniforms to call attention to the old strike of pilots against Southern Airways. They passed out cards for about 30 minutes, then left when Airport Manager Jack Gray told them they were violating rules and regulations of the airport.

1985 -- Mayor Andrew Young meets with opponents of the proposed Presidential Parkway that would have run from downtown past the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library to Druid Hills. Opponents succeeded in keeping the freeway out of their neighborhoods. The smaller Freedom Parkway was built and is in use today.

1969 -- Dr. Ralph David Abernathy, leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Atlanta Police Captain Howard Baugh and Mayor Ivan Allen engage in discussion during a demonstration.

1984 -- The message was clear as picketers marched outside a new Planned Parenthood office on Roswell Road in Marietta. About 30 people joined the protest, apparently organized by Concerned Coalition of Cobb County Citizens.

1987 -- Juanita Diaz, whose husband Ernesto was imprisoned at the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, is costumed as the Statue of Liberty, and children of other prisoners wear paper chains as a protest in front of the federal prison.

Mid-1980s -- Demonstrators protesting the Presidential Parkway showed up at the Carter Center and Library to let their feelings be known to people attending a party there. One person in attendance, wearing a Jimmy Carter Mask and a tuxedo, was Inman Park resident Doug Baxter.

1980 -- A man applies a "Buy American" bumper sticker to a car during a United Auto Workers protest against imported goods. The workers demonstrated in Hapeville outside of the Ford assembly plant.

1980 -- A driver gives the "thumbs-down" to an anti-death penalty protest that took place in front of the Governor's Mansion. Death penalty opponents were protesting Jack Potts' scheduled execution.

1970 -- Atlantans Leigh Bunkins and Tom Duggins campaign for the environment in Hurt Park on the first Earth Day.

1970 -- These student demonstrators at Clayton Junior College in Morrow eschewed marching for a relatively more comfortable sit-down protest. Clayton Junior College is now Clayton College and State University.

1980 -- These women protested a MARTA fare hike in downtown Atlanta's Central City Park. The placards the women are carrying read "Free transportation for all school children," "No cuts in service" and "50 cents is too much!" Central City Park is now Woodruff Park.

1971 -- Demonstrators take to the sidewalk outside the Fulton County Selective Service (Draft) Board offices during the Vietnam War. Their signs said "U.S. draft is unfair to all U.S. citizens / end the war - end the draft" and "VN [Vietnam] vet against the war."

1980 -- The Atlanta theatre group Sisters of No Mercy staged a parody anti-feminism protest as the Southern Ladies Against Women at a Chamber of Commerce seminar, displaying signs with slogans such as "Make coffee, not trouble" and "A day without exploitation is like a day without the Chamber of Commerce."

1947 -- With placards that speak for themselves, West Georgia College students demonstrate at the town square in Carrollton against the Georgia Legislature's election of Herman Talmadge as the state's governor and "the relapse of Georgia after walking along the road to a progressive government." The 'Three Governors' controversy of the time stemmed from Governor Eugene Talmadge's death in 1946 and how "in the wake of Talmadge's death, his supporters proposed a plan that allowed the Georgia legislature to elect a governor in January 1947. When the General Assembly elected Talmadge's son Herman as governor, the newly elected lieutenant governor, Melvin Thompson, claimed the office of governor, and the outgoing governor, Ellis Arnall, refused to leave office. Eventually, the Georgia Supreme Court settled the controversy," ruling that Thompson was the rightful governor. -- Some text from the New Georgia Encyclopedia

1977 -- Gay rights protesters picket the Miss National Teen-Ager pageant in Atlanta, opposing the choice of Anita Bryant as 'America's Greatest American' by the 3,500 pageant finalists.

1/20

Atlanta has seen various protests, marches and demonstrations regarding a number of social issues, both national and local, throughout its long history. In this gallery of photos from the AJC and Georgia State University Digital Collection archives, we look back at how Atlantans have expressed themselves publicly through the years. In this 1966 photo, John Lewis (far right), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (third from right), his wife Coretta Scott King and Ralph David Abernathy (second from left) lead a march from Atlanta University to the Georgia State Capitol.

Today's Gallery Headlines

Jimmy Carter ‘forever’ stamp

PHOTOS: 2025 AJC Photos of the Year

Coca-Cola first ad

PHOTOS: Coca-Cola ads over time

Alonzo Herndon

PHOTOS: Philanthropists leave mark on Atlanta

gainesville, thomas county central

PHOTOS: Thomas County Central pummels Gainesville for 5A state title

More Galleries

People are silhouetted against a huge Pride flag before the start of the Atlanta Pride Parade on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (Ben Gray for the AJC)

Photos: Atlanta Pride Parade 2025

Splish Splash Doggie Bash at Piedmont Park

Photos: Splish Splash Doggie Bash at Piedmont Park

Fallen Dekalb County Firefighter Preston Fant arrives at West Cobb Funeral Home

PHOTOS: Fallen DeKalb firefighter honored with processional through metro Atlanta

Dragon Con Parade

PHOTOS: Dragon Con Parade 2025 brings out colorful characters