25th Anniversary of Atlanta Riot

Twenty-five years ago Sunday, I looked out from my former AJC office and witnessed horror: swarms of rioters chasing and beating people in downtown Atlanta following the Rodney King verdict.

I abandoned plans to remove my antique office furniture and sped my empty rental truck through frenzied streets. I escaped unharmed. Forty others weren’t as fortunate – one man suffered permanent brain injuries being kicked by a crowd outside CNN Center.

Atlanta police arrested 320 that day, an ugly reminder how tenuous our peaceful existence is and how quickly community tensions – ignored and unresolved – can escalate into regrettable hateful terror.

– Chris Schroder, SPR Atlanta