Visual Artifact Page
“In 1987, The Oprah Show had only been on the air for five months and trouble was brewing in the deep south. Forsyth County, Georgia, known for being a hotbed of racism, was in the headlines for some residents' hostile response to Civil Rights protests.”
The forsyth 6
On October 2, 1912 6 black Forsyth County residents were escorted from the Fulton Tower in Atlanta back to Cumming. A reporter captured this image of the group during a break in Buford.
From left to right: Jane Daniel, Oscar Daniel, Toney Howell, Ed Collins, Isaiah Pirkle, & Ernest Knox. Unidentified members of the Georgia state militia stand in the background.
judge newt morris (1869-1941)
Judge Newt Morris presided over the trial of Ernest Knox and Oscar Daniel.
Top Left: Morris pictured after a quail hunt, circa 1909.
Bottom Right: Morris pictured with his wife, Cornelia, circa 1935.
FOrsyth in the early 1900s
While not directly related to the trials of Ernest Knox or Oscar Daniel, the image above depicts the way of life for a Forsyth family around the time of the trial.
Cumming Courthouse
The courthouse in Cumming that hosted the trials of Knox and Daniel was built in 1905. In 1973, it was destroyed by unknown arsonists.
Cumming Courthouse
The courthouse in Cumming that hosted the trials of Knox and Daniel was built in 1905. In 1973, it was destroyed by unknown arsonists.
“only unarmed men”
Men lined up, waiting to get into the courthouse for the trial of Knox and Daniel.
From the Atlanta Constitution • Oct 5, 1912
“troops protect negro prisoners”
From the Atlanta Constitution • Oct. 25, 1912
October 25th, 1912
The only known photo taken the day that Ernest Knox and Oscar Daniel were publicly executed before a crowd of thousands. This image shows the crowd beginning to disperse after the execution. The recognizable hump of Sawnee Mountain rises in the background.
“negroes flee from forsyth”
This article in the Oct. 13, 1912, edition of the Atlanta Constitution describes the terror the night riders exacted upon the black community of Forsyth County.
“whipped by night riders in georgia”
This image comes from the Danielsville Monitor (GA), March, 1913. Though unrelated to the racial terror of Forsyth County in 1912, it depicts similar masked night riders who’ve abducted a white man in the night and are whipping him for “immorality.”
children refugees
Jeremiah and Nancy Brown were a successful African American couple in Forsyth County in the early 1900s.
They had five children, Harrison, Rosalee, Bertie, Fred, Naomi, and Minor (shown above). The Brown family was driven out of Forsyth County and left homeless during the racial terror of 1912.
Protests in 1987
In 1987, a large group of protestors drove from Atlanta to Cumming, Georgia, to challenge the county’s all-white status. News outlets across the country covered the protests. Click the image above to read the coverage from the LA Times.
Filmmaker, Robert Williams, produced a documentary called Banished which tracks 12 counties across America that staged racial cleansings, similar to what happened in Forsyth County, Georgia. The events of Sep/Oct 1912 in Forsyth are heavily featured in the documentary. (runtime: 1 hr 27 min)