Trey Kay Published

No Justice In Augusta: Remembering A Little Known Race Riot

Augusta Georgia Riot
Charles Oatman in his A.R. Johnson Junior High School yearbook portrait. On Saturday, May 9, 1970, the news of the 16-year-old’s torture and brutal death caused long-simmering frustrations about racial injustice to boil over.
Miami Herald
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We can document almost everything around us with devices of all kinds, but in 1970, there were few cameras around when police opened fire on crowds in Augusta, Georgia.

A protest-turned-riot over the brutal murder of a Black teenager left six Black men dead from police bullets. There was never justice for any of the deaths, including 16-year-old Charles Oatman, who died in the Richmond County Jail. The story of that riot remains relatively unknown among Augusta residents both Black and white.

Us & Them host Trey Kay talks with podcast producer Sea Stachura about her award-winning work, “Shots in the Back: Exhuming the 1970 Augusta Riot.” Historians call it one of the largest uprisings of the Civil Rights Era in the Deep South. 

This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, CRC Foundation and the West Virginia Humanities Council.

Click on the hyperlinked title to hear the entire award-winning podcast series, Shots In The Back: Exhuming The 1970 Augusta Riot.

Charles Oatman Photo

Miami Herald
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Charles Oatman in his A.R. Johnson Junior High School yearbook portrait. On Saturday, May 9, the news of the 16-year-old’s torture and brutal death brought long-simmering frustrations about racial injustice to a boiling point.
Augusta Municipal Building

Augusta College Yearbook
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Black protesters gather in front of the Municipal Building in Augusta, GA mid-afternoon on Monday, May 11 to demand answers from law enforcement officials about the circumstances of the death of Charles Oatman.
Hill's Food Store

Augusta Chronicle
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On May 11, 1970, this was 9th Street (today it’s James Brown Blvd) at the intersection of D’Antignac Street in Augusta, GA, where working-class African American residents ransacked White-owned Hill’s Food Store.
White's Laundry, Augusta GA

Augusta Chronicle
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White-owned Snow’s Laundry and Dry Cleaning in Augusta, GA goes up in flames after a firebombing.
Williams Beauty Supply and the Harlem Pawn Shop

Paine College Yearbook
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Augusta policemen patrol while white-owned stores Williams Beauty Supply and the Harlem Pawn Shop burn.
Overturned Car

Paine College Yearbook
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Policemen with shotguns occupy a part of Augusta where protesters overturned the car of a white motorist.
Augusta 6

New England Free Press / Library of Congress
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“Don’t mourn … organize! Remember the Augusta six.” poster from 1970.
Jesseye Norman Students Visit Charles Oatman's Grave

Sea Stachura
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Students from the Jessye Norman School of Arts – Podcasting Class on a field trip with Linton Oatman to visit the grave of his nephew Charles Oatman.
Sea Stachura's Students

Sea Stachura
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Students from Sea Stachura’s Podcasting Class at the Jessye Norman School of the Arts in Augusta, GA helped with the reporting on a podcast series that was honored with an National Edward R. Murrow Award.
Murrows2021_Awards-108.png

RTDNA – Edward R. Murrow Awards
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Sea Stachura bobbles her award at the 2021 National Edward R. Murrow Honors in New York City.