Atlanta, GA

Moore’s Ford Bridge: Remembering America’s last mass lynching

Published

5 days ago

February 25, 2026

Moore’s Ford Bridge: Remembering America’s last mass lynching

About 50 miles east of Atlanta, along Highway 78 near the Oconee County line, a modest roadside marker tells the story of one of the most horrific racial crimes in American history.

It marks the site of the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching — widely recognized as the last documented mass lynching in the United States.

The site of the Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching — widely recognized as the last documented mass lynching in the United States.

CBS News Atlanta

Between 1880 and 1968, Tuskegee University researchers say Georgia recorded 637 lynchings — one of the highest totals in the nation. Most went unprosecuted.

Among them: the killings on July 25, 1946.

The Malcolms and Dorseys, sharecroppers in Georgia, encouraged Black neighbors to vote in the state’s all-white primary earlier that year.

CBS News Atlanta
Advertisement

On that summer day, George Dorsey — a World War II veteran — and his wife Mae, along with Roger and Dorothy Malcolm, were traveling near the Apalachee River in Walton County.

The Malcolms and Dorseys were sharecroppers who had encouraged Black community members to vote in Georgia’s all-white primary earlier that year.

After a confrontation with a wealthy white landowner, Roger Malcolm was arrested and jailed in Walton County. He was later bailed out by Loy Harrison, a local farmer who was also identified as a Klansman.

As Harrison drove the two couples toward his farm, their car was stopped at Moore’s Ford Bridge by a mob of roughly 30 white men.

George Dorsey and Roger Malcolm were dragged from the car, tied to a tree in a nearby field, and shot. Dorothy Malcolm, who was seven months pregnant, and Mae Dorsey were also killed. According to statements later given to authorities, the four were shot dozens of times.

No one was ever convicted.

A case that still haunts Georgia

For Dr. Cassandra Greene and Nicole King-Crawford, the site is more than history — it is sacred ground.

CBS News Atlanta

For Cassandra Greene and Nicole King-Crawford, the site is not just history — it is sacred ground.

“I immediately feel sad… hurt,” Greene said during a recent visit to the bridge. “This is exactly where they were killed.”

For two decades, Greene and King-Crawford have helped organize an annual July 25 reenactment of the lynching. They say the performance is not about spectacle, but remembrance.

“It reconnects you to your humanness — your compassion, your empathy,” Greene said. “That’s what it should do.”

Despite four sweeping investigations by the FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation over 81 years, no suspects were publicly named and no arrests were made.

Many in the community believe prominent local residents were involved.

“This town… there were prominent people here that were involved,” Greene said. “Would you want your family’s name to be out? They don’t want it.”

The sealed grand jury testimony

One potential key to the case remains locked away: sealed federal grand jury testimony from 1946. More than 100 witnesses reportedly testified.

Hank Klibanoff, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and director of the Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project at Emory University, has long pushed for access to those records.

“I do believe the secrecy behind grand juries — including Moore’s Ford — is to protect the bad guys, not the good guys,” Klibanoff said.

Hank Klibanoff, Pulitzer-winning author and director of Emory’s Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project.

CBS News Atlanta
Advertisement

He remains hopeful that answers may still exist in archives — or within families.

“You don’t know if someone gave a deathbed confession 40 years ago,” he said.

Authorities acknowledge it is unlikely that anyone who directly witnessed the lynching is still alive. But descendants in Walton County may hold pieces of the truth.

Greene says she prays one day a family member will come forward — not just for accountability, but for reconciliation.

“We want reconciliation,” she said. “That’s what’s important.”

A national reckoning

The impact of Moore’s Ford reached beyond Walton County.

In December 1946, the killings helped prompt President Harry Truman to establish the President’s Committee on Civil Rights — a 15-member panel tasked with investigating racial violence and recommending federal action to protect civil rights.

Nearly 80 years later, Moore’s Ford Bridge stands as a reminder of terror, silence, and unfinished justice — and of a chapter of Black history that remains as difficult to confront as it is necessary to remember.

In:

Source link

Click to comment

Atlanta, GA

Blazers Outclassed in Every Aspect By Atlanta

Published

11 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Blazers Outclassed in Every Aspect By Atlanta

The Portland Trail Blazers put up an absolute stinker on Sunday, getting destroyed by the .500 Atlanta Hawks, 135-101. It was a soul-destroying loss. Jrue Holiday and Donovan Clingan have at least some reason to hold their heads high, with Holiday putting up 23 points on 56.3% shooting and Clingan getting a 15 point/15 rebound double-double. Otherwise you have to squint pretty hard to take away anything positive for the Blazers.

Here are a few observations from the game:

First Quarter Disaster Class

Not a whole lot went right for the Blazers in the first quarter other than Jrue Holiday’s 14 points in the frame. No other Blazer could manage more than three points. At the other end of the court, the Hawks were getting to the free throw line with ease, taking 15 freebies against only two for the Blazers. Atlanta found it easy to get wide-open shots too. Simple penetrate-and-kick was the order of the day, and it was shockingly successful. Five turnovers for Portland didn’t help either. With everything going wrong, the refs added to the misery, ignoring some laughably physical play for a steal at one end, while whistling Vit Krejci for a block on a clear charge on the other. Poor whistles led to frustration, with Clingan losing the plot a bit and picking up his third foul in the quarter out of frustration. Finishing down 19 at the end of the first quarter is no way to win a basketball game, yet somehow it could have been worse. With a bit over a minute to go, the Blazers had been down 24. Credit for not giving up I guess, but… yeesh.

Okongwu was terrific. At one point in the 2nd quarter, he had 20 points on 77.8% shooting from the field and 75% shooting from deep. Not bad for a 6’10” center. He was always open in the corner. Every time down the court. If Atlanta had wanted to make feeding him a priority, Okongwu might have finished with 60. Instead, they ignored the obvious and gave every Hawk who took the court plenty of touches and shots. It’s hard to argue with a 34-point win, but it really should have been a 40-point lead at halftime if the Hawks had pressed their advantage.

Henderson’s Three-Point Shot

It’s still early days for Henderson’s 25-26 season, but he’s shown good things coming back from injury. His strength and first step are encouraging. His three-point shooting, however, has been a real problem. For a team that was already at or around the worst three-point percentage in the NBA before Henderson took the court, the last thing they needed was him to come in and shoot 24% for the season. In this game he attempted 4 of them, making one. Two of his misses were so ugly that Atlanta fans were embarrassed for him. Without a functional shot from range, he’s just not showing enough to win the starting job.

Three Quarters of Garbage Time

One way to look at this game is to give the Blazers credit for keeping it pretty even for most of the game after the soul-crushing first quarter. You could also give Portland credit for finding their way to the arena today. This game was decided early and nothing the Blazers did the rest of the way gave anybody a sense that they could mount a comeback. That’s pretty discouraging.

Nice Shooting Percentage From Krejci, But…

75% shooting from the field and 66% from three for Krejci? Yes, please! Three total shots from deep and five overall in a game when they needed points? No, no, no. Krejci seemed like a brilliant pickup for the Blazers, what with him shooting over 40% from three the last three season in Atlanta. He just hasn’t had the kind of impact we all imagined so far. It’s still early in his Blazer career, but the 31.7% that Krejci is shooting from beyond the arc for the Blazers isn’t what anyone had in mind. Today he made his first three shots, with two of them from deep. Would this be the game that could get him on track? Unfortunately he’d only take one more three-pointer the rest of the game. It’s incredible that they wouldn’t at least try to lean into him a bit more when he looked like he might be poised to break out of his Blazers’ shooting slump.

The Blazers will get two days off before taking on the apparently lottery-bound Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. A Portland win would probably suit both clubs just fine.

Source link

Atlanta, GA

Drama mars finish of half-marathon national championships in Atlanta

Published

23 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Drama mars finish of half-marathon national championships in Atlanta

The 2026 Publix Atlanta Marathon, which served as the USA Track & Field Half Marathon Championships, met chaos Sunday in the women’s half marathon event.

Three runners — Jess McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat — were led off course by an official race vehicle with less than 2 miles to go. The nearly-half-mile error, according to data from Hurley’s Strava account, cost the runners their top-three finishes.

m’I“ eht os ehs nees derocs gniyas .ecalp dessip ”ffo htnin ,enil si ni hsinif sessorc sa nialCcM

htiw .niw eht eht enil si tsrif hsinif dessorc detiderc dna ylloM nroB

ohw emit-eerht driht eht etats derocs ,rennur rennur si si morf remrof rof gnihsinif dehsinif noipmahc sa dna detceffa a llewsoR ,tagruK ,yelruH pihswolleF .naitsirhC .ht31 ,ht21

pot ot eerht eht eht eht tops esaeler ecar yfilauq .rezinagro no morf rof srehsinif yllacitamotua ta gnidrocca a a dlroW ASU kcarT ehT maeT gninnuR daoR ,bulC ,spihsnoipmahC atnaltA scitelhtA 6202

saw saw saw ot eht .dettimbus tsetorp tsetorp ,detcapmi revewoh delif deined yb setelhta laeppa dna na a ,FTASU gnidroccA

eht“ on“ nihtiw saw saw ot ot ereht eht eht eht eht taht .tnemetats koobelur stluser stluser esruocer detsop tniop redro redro fo fo fo ton ”,noitceridsim dekram yruj ti si dnuof .hsinif hsinif ”,lanif denimreted esruoc deredisnoc tub ta sa retla osla yletauqeda gnidrocca FTASU FTASU ehT ehT

htiw eht eht ton si rof tsrif amard hsurb sihT xilbuP .nohtaraM

s’raey erew saw saw esu ,deifitrecnu elbanu ot ot semit rieht eht eht eht eht taht naht trohs srennur stluser gniredner .ecar ecar sreifilauq fo swen erom htnom gninaem nohtaram lluf rof teef ,ecnatsid derevocsid esruoc eb sa decnuonna osla retfa a ehT .nohtaraM tsaL notsoB 455

elihW“ lliw ew ew ,dilav ,degnahcnu ,gniniart .emit emit siht eht eht tnemetats dias gninnur stluser niamer terger ”,noitingocer tnapicitrap laiciffo fo fo on hcum .ekatsim ,nohtaram nohtaram ssel woh wonk otni ni traeh og yreve troffe sevresed ylpeed tnemtimmoc ta era dna dna dna dna tnemeveihca a a kcarT ehT hciR ,haneK ,bulC OEC atnaltA

Source link

Atlanta, GA

Police increase presence across metro Atlanta amid teen takeover rumors

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Police increase presence across metro Atlanta amid teen takeover rumors

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Popular gathering spots across metro Atlanta saw heightened law enforcement presence Saturday night following rumors of potential “teen takeovers.”

Authorities say a similar event last weekend led to more than a dozen teenagers and adults being taken into custody. In response, agencies across the metro area are stepping up patrols in several high-traffic areas, including the Beltline and the Cumberland Mall and Battery districts.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 9 juveniles, 8 adults charged after weekend ‘takeover’ event at The Battery

Along the Atlanta Beltline, Atlanta police confirmed they increased staffing levels as a precaution. An APD officer on scene told Atlanta News First that officers are maintaining an enhanced presence due to the takeover rumors. An Atlanta News First crew observed multiple people put in handcuffs and an APD officer at the Beltline said four guns had been confiscated.

Multiple patrol units were visible along the Beltline, with officers monitoring foot traffic and briefly detaining several individuals. Police said the show of force is intended to deter large, disruptive gatherings before they begin.

Cumberland Mall to have teen curfew Saturday after ‘takeover’ at The Battery

In Cobb County, law enforcement agencies are coordinating efforts around Cumberland Mall and The Battery Atlanta. The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office deployed its mounted patrol unit, with four deputies on horseback circling the mall. Units from the Cobb County Police Department, Marietta Police Department, and the Georgia State Patrol were also seen monitoring traffic and pedestrian activity in the area.

Electronic message boards and posted signage between Cumberland and The Battery warned visitors of the increased law enforcement presence. Officers said the goal is to prevent a repeat of last weekend’s arrests and ensure public safety.

For now, officials say the evening remains calm, but they are prepared to respond quickly if large crowds begin to form.

Source link