Why were Black Augustans so angry about Charles Oatman's death? Because it was a symbol for the myriad of other injustices and oppressions that they have dealt with everyday. This episode weaves together seemingly isolated issues that together stymied the progress and equality of Augusta's Black citizens.

Episode 2: A Lay Of The Land In 1970 Augusta

"Shots in the Back: Exhuming the 1970 Augusta Riot" tells the story of one of the first major Civil Rights Era riots in the South. The immediate cause of the riot in Augusta, Ga. was the brutal murder of Charles Oatman, an African American teenager held by police in the county jail. During the riot, six Black men were killed by white police officers, all of them shot in the back. In a collaboration, students at the Jessye Norman School of the Arts join GPB in telling this story.

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Episode 2: A Lay Of The Land In 1970 Augusta

Episode 2: A Lay Of The Land In 1970 Augusta

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