South Downtown in Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
“Expelled Because of Color”
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 11, 2013
1. "Expelled Because of Color" Marker
The cinder block forms at the base of the sculpture symbolize the building of black political awareness and self-representation in Georgia. Our enslavement, our role in the Revolutionary War, the Black church, our labor and the right to vote are components of the black Georgian's struggle from the slave ship to the State House.
John Riddle, sculptor. Presented to the State of Georgia by the Black members of the Georgia General Assembly who served between the dates of 1963 and 1978.
Erected 1978 by Georgia Legislative Black Caucus.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. A significant historical date for this entry is September 3, 1868.
Location. 33° 44.938′ N, 84° 23.265′ W. Marker is in Atlanta, Georgia, in Fulton County. It is in South Downtown. Marker can be reached from Capitol Avenue SW south of M.L.K. Junior Drive SE, on the left when traveling north. Marker is located on the east side of the Georgia Capitol grounds, along the walkway near the east Capitol entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 206 Washington St, SW, Atlanta GA 30334, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers.
this page online
Regarding “Expelled Because of Color”. “Expelled Because of Color” is the name of the 1977 sculpture by John Riddle that is adjacent to this marker. Remarks in the Smithsonian Institution’s Art Inventories Catalog:
The sculpture was created to commemorate the Black Legislators in Georgia during Reconstruction who were [expelled from] the State Capitol because of the segregation laws which still existed. The progression of people in the sculpture echoes a traditional African theme and symbolizes the rise of African Americans from their arrival on slave ships (indicated at the bottom),to their freedom after the Civil War, indicated by the figures on the top reaching up to an outline of the state of Georgia which is tightlybound by a belt. The sculpture was originally intended to be placed indoors, but was moved outside because of controversy.Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 11, 20132. Marker and Sculpture
Also see . . . The "Original 33". The "Original 33" were the first 33 African-American members of the Georgia General Assembly who were elected to office in 1868, during the Reconstruction era. They were among the first African-American state legislators in the United States:
Eli Barnes, Hancock County • James Ward Porter, Chatham County • Henry McNeal Turner, Bibb County • William Guilford, Upson County • William Henry Harrison, Hancock County • Thomas M. Allen, Jasper County • Thomas Beard, Richmond County • Edwin Belcher, Wilkes County • George H. Clower, Monroe County • Abram Colby, Greene County • Romulus Moore, Columbia County • John T. Costin, Talbot County • Madison Davis, Clarke County • Monday Floyd, Morgan County • F. H. Fyall, Macon County • Samuel Gardner, Warren County • William A. Golden, Liberty County • Ulysses L. Houston, Bryan County • James M. Simms, Chatham County • Philip Joiner, Dougherty County • George Linder, Laurens County • Robert Lumpkin, Macon County • Peter O'Neal, Baldwin County • Alfred Richardson, Clarke County • Alexander Stone, Jefferson County • Abraham Smith, Muscogee County • John Warren, Burke County • Samuel Williams, Harris County • Tunis Campbell Jr., McIntosh County • Malcolm(Submitted on February 22, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)Claiborn, Burke CountyPhotographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 11, 20133. Dedication PanelPresented to the State of Georgia by the Black members of the Georgia General Assembly who served between the dates of 1963 and 1978.This 16th Day of February, 1978
State Senators
• Tunis Campbell, Liberty County • Aaron Alpeoria Bradley, Chatham County • George Wallace; Hancock, Baldwin, and Washington Counties
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 11, 2013
4. "Expelled Because of Color" Sculpture
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, September 11, 2013
5. "Expelled Because of Color" Sculpture
Photo of a 1974 oil painting by George Mandus via Laurens County African American History
6. Representative Henry McNeal Turner
One of the Original 33
One of the Original 33
Excerpt from his speech on the floor of the House:
Never, in the history of the world, has a man been arraigned before a body clothed with legislative, judicial or executive functions, charged with the offense of being a darker hue than his fellow men. ... never in the history of the great nations of this world, never before, has a man been arraigned, charged with an offense committed by the God of Heaven Himself.
... it has remained for the state of Georgia, in the very heart of the nineteenth century, to call a man before the bar, and there charge him with an act for which he is no more responsible than for the head which he carries upon his shoulders.
The Anglo Saxon race, sir, is a most surprising one. No man has ever been more deceived in that race than I have been for the last three weeks. I was not aware that there was in the character of that race so much cowardice or so much pusillanimity.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 8, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 22, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 970 times since then and 88 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week August 28, 2022. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on February 22, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 6. submitted on August 18, 2022, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
