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A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Atlanta. Written by Kristal Dixon and Thomas Wheatley.

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One hundred seventeen years later, two more victims have been added to the list of Black people who were murdered by white mobs during the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre.

Why it matters: Long described as a "riot," the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre is still largely unknown despite being the largest outbreak of racial violence in Georgia's history, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights said.

Driving the news: Researchers say they've confirmed through Fulton County death records that Stinson Ferguson, 25, and 13-year-old Marshall Carter were both victims of the massacre. They died Sept. 22, 1906, the night it began.

Carter, who was listed as a "schoolboy," died from asphyxia while Ferguson was killed after receiving a gunshot wound to the stomach, records show.

The center said they've submitted both names to the Equal Justice Initiative so they can be added to its National Memorial of Peace and Justice.

State of play: The center's Truth and Transformation Initiative, along with the Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project and the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, announced the revelation during a vigil Monday at the Henry Grady Statue.

The statue is located on Marietta Street, where bodies of Black people were placed after they were killed in the massacre.

"We come to tell the truth about those who lost their lives and the impact it has on our city, on our state, and our nation," said Darrin Sims, executive director of the Truth and Transformation Initiative.

Flashback: In September 1906, angry groups of thousands of white men — spurred by sensational and unsubstantiated news stories about Black men assaulting white women — killed at least 25 Black people in Atlanta over the course of four days. Two white people were killed.

Black men, women and children were beaten and communities and businesses, including the barbershop owned by Alonzo Herndon, were vandalized.

Competition for jobs, the emergence of a Black upper class and growing racial and socioeconomic tensions also contributed to the massacre.

Of note: Hank Klibanoff, director of Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project at Emory University and host of the "Buried Truths" podcast, said at a press conference following the vigil that the victims' death certificates (which at the time were called "return of a death" forms) had the words "riot" written beside their names, referring to the massacre.

"These types of records…help us expand the story," Sylvia Johnson, a researcher at Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society's metro Atlanta chapter, said about the details included in the death records.

She also said the records show how the massacre affected the city economically, as many of the people who were killed "did so many of the things that kept Atlanta running," including owning small businesses.

Be smart: The vigil is one of several events the center is hosting to commemorate the victims of the massacre this month. Learn more here.

New victims identified in 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre

The 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre is still largely unknown in most circles and is the largest outbreak of racial violence in Georgia's history, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights said.

Pastor Charles Hamilton of New Morning Light Baptist Church in Conley speaks during the vigil to commemorate the 117th anniversary of the Atlanta Race Massacre. Photo: Kristal Dixon/Axios

One hundred seventeen years later, two more victims have been added to the list of Black people who were murdered by white mobs during the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre.Why it matters: Long described as a &quot;riot,&quot; the 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre is still largely unknown despite being the largest outbreak of racial violence in Georgia&#x27;s history, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights said.

News

Data: U.S. Census; Chart: Kavya Beheraj/Axios

Metro Atlanta grew richer during the pandemic, according to new data on household income released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Driving the news: Atlanta's median income rose 2.3% from $82,932 in 2019 to $84,876 in 2022, adjusted for inflation, according to 2022 American Community Survey one-year estimates, which was released on Thursday.

Statewide, the median income increased by 1.7% from $71,648 to $72,837.

Why it matters: A flurry of businesses relocating to Atlanta, as well as the area's growing presence as a tech hub, is bringing higher-earning transplants to the city where income inequality remains stark and the rising cost of living continues to price out the area's lower-income residents.

Zoom in: The share of metro Atlanta residents making between $50,000 and $75,000 annually decreased from 18% to 16% between 2019 and 2022, as did the share of people making less than $49,000.

Meanwhile, the share making between $75,000 to $99,000 slightly increased from 13% to 14% and the percentage of people making $100,000 or more jumped from 35% to 42%.

The big picture: Nationally, median household income fell 1.6% between 2019 and 2022, adjusted for inflation.

That trend "explains why Americans have felt so meh about the strong economy over the past couple years," Axios Markets' Emily Peck writes based on similar data.

Context: The COVID-19 pandemic "changed the geography of where money is made in the United States," Axios Macro's Neil Irwin reports, as many higher-income Americans decamped from cities like New York and San Francisco to "rural and exurban places and popular vacation destinations."

Of note: The ACS is one of the best resources available for a regularly published quantified look at myriad facets of American life, down to a remarkably local level.

Because the latest ACS release is based on 2022 data, it's capturing what some call the "late pandemic era," when many elements of normality returned but the pandemic still loomed in the background, affecting many aspects of life.

Metro Atlanta household income grew during the pandemic

The metro region's  income grew 2.3% between 2019 and 2022, adjusted for inflation.

Metro Atlanta grew richer during the pandemic, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new data" data-vars-click-url="https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/newsroom/press-kits/2023/iphi/20230912-iphi-slides-income.pdf" data-vars-content-id="58bd0abf-35e0-4a51-80f5-a38593cda8a8" data-vars-headline="Metro Atlanta household income grew during the pandemic" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/newsroom/press-kits/2023/iphi/20230912-iphi-slides-income.pdf" target="_blank">new data</a> on household income released by the U.S. Census Bureau.Driving the news: Atlanta&#x27;s median income rose 2.3% from $82,932 in 2019 to $84,876 in 2022, adjusted for inflation, according to 2022 American Community Survey one-year estimates, which was released on Thursday.<ul><li>Statewide, the median income increased by 1.7% from $71,648 to $72,837.</li></ul>

Whats Next

Axios What's Next

Data: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Note: Medians include Veterans Health Administration and Department of Defense hospital data; Chart: Jacque Schrag and Alice Feng/Axios

The median time Georgians spent in emergency rooms was 2 hours, 37 minutes last year — the latest in a steady increase from pre-pandemic times, according to the latest Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data.

Why it matters: Time spent in the ER is a key metric for tracking hospital performance, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick reports.

Increasing ER visit times are an indication that a hospital may be understaffed relative to a community's needs or is facing other issues.

Zoom in: Georgia's overall wait time increased slightly from 2 hours, 31 minutes in 2021 and 2 hours, 23 minutes in 2014.

It's slightly shorter than the median of 2 hours, 40 minutes spent in emergency rooms nationwide in 2022 — a number that's rising in recent years.

Of note: The CMS data, which covers more than 4,000 Medicare-certified hospitals nationwide, captures the length of patients' entire ER visits, not just the time spent waiting to be first seen.

The big picture: The steady nationwide increase comes as hospitals face a staffing crisis — a problem plaguing vital industries, from health care to teachers to air traffic controllers.

The intrigue: Fears of getting stuck at the ER for hours are fueling a boom in urgent care and retail health clinics, as we've previously reported.

Emergency room visits are getting longer in Georgia

The median time Georgians spent in emergency rooms was 2 hours, 37 minutes last year.

The median time Georgians spent in emergency rooms was 2 hours, 37 minutes last year — the latest in a steady increase from pre-pandemic times, according to the latest Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="data" data-vars-click-url="https://link.axios.com/click/32719508.10/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tL2JyaWRnZT91cmw9aHR0cHM6Ly9kYXRhLmNtcy5nb3YvcHJvdmlkZXItZGF0YS9kYXRhc2V0L2FweWMtdjIzOSZzPTEyNDY3MSZuPTQ1YWQ0ZDc3JnQ9N2E5NDQyZGNmMjcyZDkwZjA4NmNlMWZkYzUyYTc5NDAzNmUxNmUyYSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2VuZHRvX2xvY2FsbmV3c2xldHRlcnRlc3Qmc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/628d54b6b6584c3ca20ec6fbB66fef97b" data-vars-content-id="7675e06c-e7d3-4e40-8df7-5494f2babbf9" data-vars-headline="Emergency room visits are getting longer in Georgia" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://link.axios.com/click/32719508.10/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tL2JyaWRnZT91cmw9aHR0cHM6Ly9kYXRhLmNtcy5nb3YvcHJvdmlkZXItZGF0YS9kYXRhc2V0L2FweWMtdjIzOSZzPTEyNDY3MSZuPTQ1YWQ0ZDc3JnQ9N2E5NDQyZGNmMjcyZDkwZjA4NmNlMWZkYzUyYTc5NDAzNmUxNmUyYSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249c2VuZHRvX2xvY2FsbmV3c2xldHRlcnRlc3Qmc3RyZWFtPXRvcA/628d54b6b6584c3ca20ec6fbB66fef97b" target="_blank">data</a>.Why it matters: Time spent in the ER is a key metric for tracking hospital performance, Axios&#x27; Alex Fitzpatrick <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/15/hospital-er-visit-time-length" data-vars-content-id="7675e06c-e7d3-4e40-8df7-5494f2babbf9" data-vars-headline="Emergency room visits are getting longer in Georgia" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/15/hospital-er-visit-time-length" target="_self">reports</a>.

Health

In 2020, several students in Cobb County began an effort to rename Wheeler High School, which opened in 1965 and was christened after Confederate General Joseph Wheeler.

The students spoke at Board of Education meetings and even conducted research on the history of the school's naming and Wheeler's background.

Their requests were not taken up by district officials, as well as the Republican majority of the school board.

Flash-forward: Last month, the outside conservative activist organization Libs of TikTok emailed the district asking if two "pornographic books" in school libraries were "appropriate" for students.

The district responded to the group's email and within days, removed both books from nearly two dozen school libraries.

Why it matters: The speed at which Cobb schools responded to the request of an outside group has some parents wondering why the district remains slow to address issues brought forth by local students and parents.

State of play: A majority of Cobb County voters since 2016 have backed Democratic presidential candidates, and since 2020, nearly all countywide elected positions have flipped from Republican to Democratic control.

The Cobb school board is the only Republican-controlled elected body in the county.

The request to change Wheeler High School's name will most likely not be considered, at least not while it remains under Republican control.

What they're saying: Zoe Shepard, a Spelman College student who graduated from Wheeler High School in 2022 and was among the students who pushed for the name change, told Axios that the school board appears to be more concerned about banning books and firing teachers than addressing issues like literacy rates.

"I think it's because there's a lack of accountability," said Shepard, who has a sibling still enrolled in the district. "There's a lack of care for constituents… who don't have particular views."

Parent Melissa Marten, whose children attend a Cobb elementary and middle school, told Axios that the district's actions weren't surprising "because it's just additional examples of the recklessness and harm our district seems to stand for and the complete lack of regard for responding to parent and community member concerns."

"To completely ignore student demands – students that take a brave step in addressing this district and board in public in front of a lot of people – is just completely unacceptable," she said.

The other side: The district told Axios in a statement that there's a difference between "not being heard and disagreeing with a decision made by the district."

"Everyone in Cobb is heard, including a vocal minority of political activists who disagree with our decision to keep sexually explicit content out of schools and have been attempting to flip the political majority on our board for years," the statement said.

"We will continue to keep our schools focused on academic excellence, not political games."

Yes, and: Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said in a lengthy speech during the board's Sept. 14 meeting that the district is not banning books because of particular viewpoints, and its media centers will include books "from a multitude of perspectives, cultures, and experiences."

"Our students will continue to be exposed to a vast array of diversity experiences, backgrounds, attitudes, and beliefs," he said, adding that it was his "professional and moral obligation to protect Cobb's students from being exposed to vulgar, lewd, sexually explicit, obscene, and pornographic materials."

The big picture: Cobb students, parents and stakeholders for years have come to the Board of Education, asking the district to address a wide variety of issues such as racism, questionable spending practices and antisemitism.

While the school board did pass a resolution condemning antisemitism in 2021, its members, who were majority white at the time, failed to collectively agree on a separate stance against racism a year earlier.

The bottom line: Michael Garza, who has a daughter enrolled in the district, told Axios that Cobb is rapidly changing from a Republican stronghold to a county whose voter base is more demographically and politically diverse.

"We deserve to be listened to, the students deserve to be listened to, and at least hear what we're saying," he said. "And know that you're actually taking that into account whenever you're making decisions, and that's just not what's happening."

Cobb schools unresponsive to issues important to students, parents say

Frustrations among parents and students are mounting against the Cobb County School District.

Cobb student Haya Fatmi speaks during the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition's press conference before the Sept. 14 Cobb County Board of Education meeting. Credit: Kristal Dixon/Axios

In 2020, several students in Cobb County <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="began an effort" data-vars-click-url="https://sites.google.com/view/wheelernamechange/home" data-vars-content-id="95fd89d7-042d-42f8-b3c2-1d86ea23d406" data-vars-headline="Cobb schools unresponsive to issues important to students, parents say" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://sites.google.com/view/wheelernamechange/home" target="_blank">began an effort</a> to rename Wheeler High School, which opened in 1965 and was christened after Confederate General Joseph Wheeler.<ul><li>The students spoke at Board of Education meetings and even<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" conducted research" data-vars-click-url="https://sites.google.com/view/wheelernamechange/our-reasoning/research-findings" data-vars-content-id="95fd89d7-042d-42f8-b3c2-1d86ea23d406" data-vars-headline="Cobb schools unresponsive to issues important to students, parents say" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://sites.google.com/view/wheelernamechange/our-reasoning/research-findings" target="_blank"> conducted research</a> on the history of the school&#x27;s naming and Wheeler&#x27;s background.</li><li>Their requests were not taken up by district officials, as well as the Republican majority of the school board.</li></ul>

Education

Fulton County sheriff Pat Labat wants to alleviate overcrowding at the county jail by sending some inmates to private prisons in south Georgia and Mississippi.

Driving the news: The Fulton County Board of Commissioners got a first look Wednesday at Labat's proposal to house pre-trial detainees at two locations: the D. Ray James Correctional Facility in Folkston, and the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi.

Located in Charlton County, Folkston is about 300 miles from Atlanta.

Tutwiler is nearly 400 miles away in northwest Mississippi.

Why it matters: The jail earlier this month recorded its 10th death of 2023.

Labat, who has been lobbying the commission to build a larger facility, has said the crowded conditions and "crumbling walls" at the jail have contributed to the current situation.

However, many community activists say a larger facility isn't the answer, and detainees being unable to afford bond and not facing indictments for months contribute to the lack of space.

The Department of Justice is currently investigating  the death of LaShawn Thompson, a detainee with mental illness whose body was found covered in bug bites inside a cell last September.

Details: Amelia Joiner, general counsel for the sheriff's office, told commissioners during Wednesday's meeting that the prison in Folkston, which is run by GEO Group, Inc., can take up to 1,000 inmates and provide the necessary staffing to accommodate the new detainees.

The cost can range between $2.5 million and $3.5 million per month, she said.

The Mississippi prison, which is operated by CoreCivic and can only accept up to 720 detainees, would charge Fulton County between $75 and $80 per diem – and an additional $7,000 per trip to the jail.

What they're saying: Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington, Jr. said while he doesn't like the idea of sending detainees out of state, he supports Labat's proposal because it "would be completely irresponsible for me to not allocate [the] budget that would allow people to be moved out of the jail where people are dying almost every day."

By the numbers: As of Wednesday, Labat said the Fulton County Sheriff's Office had a total of 3,398 inmates and 2,391 of them are at Rice Street, which has an "operational capacity" of 2,254.

The other side: Several people also spoke in opposition to the proposal to transfer the detainees.

Marilyn Primovic, a supervisor attorney at the Atlanta Judicial Circuit Public Defender's Office, said lawyers have to regularly meet face-to-face with clients, and they can't do that if they are hundreds of miles away.

"It is an ongoing conversation that we have with them for months," she said. "We have to build trust with them. They have to know that we're for them and we're advocating for them. We cannot do that … by phoning in."

Threat level: Kenneth Perry Jr., a Fulton County Jail detainee who has been housed for 16 months, was introduced by the sheriff to discuss the conditions at the facility.

Perry said he and other detainees are subjected to violent attacks by other inmates, and have to live with mold, crumbling infrastructure, and overcrowded conditions.

Commissioners Bob Ellis and Khadijah Abdur-Rahman accused the sheriff of using the detainee as a "prop."

Ellis, who represents parts of North Fulton County, said the sheriff's requests for money without providing detailed information beforehand and creating a "staged presentation" were an "abuse of power."

"It sends the wrong message to the constituents and it sends the wrong message to us," Abdur-Rahman said, adding she knows that wasn't Labat's intention.

"That is disheartening. That is dehumanizing, and you could have gotten your point across … without that."

What we're watching: The request could come up for additional discussion or a vote as early as the commission's meeting on Oct. 4.

Fulton sheriff wants to move some inmates to private prisons

Sheriff Pat Labat says the proposal could alleviate overcrowding at the Fulton County Jail.

The Fulton County Jail. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Fulton County sheriff Pat Labat wants to alleviate overcrowding at the county jail by sending some inmates to private prisons in south Georgia and Mississippi.Driving the news: The Fulton County Board of Commissioners got a first look Wednesday at Labat&#x27;s proposal to house pre-trial detainees at two locations: the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="D. Ray James Correctional Facility" data-vars-click-url="https://www.geogroup.com/facilitydetail/facilityid/45" data-vars-content-id="d7346aa1-4909-439f-91e5-872490aa0ed9" data-vars-headline="Fulton sheriff wants to move some inmates to private prisons" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.geogroup.com/facilitydetail/facilityid/45" target="_blank">D. Ray James Correctional Facility</a> in Folkston, and the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility" data-vars-click-url="https://www.corecivic.com/facilities/tallahatchie-county-correctional-facility" data-vars-content-id="d7346aa1-4909-439f-91e5-872490aa0ed9" data-vars-headline="Fulton sheriff wants to move some inmates to private prisons" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.corecivic.com/facilities/tallahatchie-county-correctional-facility" target="_blank">Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility</a> in Tutwiler, Mississippi.

Kristal Dixon

Featured stories

Metro Atlanta household income grew during the pandemic

Cobb schools unresponsive to issues important to students, parents say

Fulton sheriff wants to move some inmates to private prisons

New victims identified in 1906 Atlanta Race Massacre

Emergency room visits are getting longer in Georgia