1 Friendship Plaza | Cartersville, Georgia

Racial segregation was an institution that started shortly after the end of the Civil War in Georgia. In 1872, state legislators passed laws segregating schools, then in the mid-1890s, Georgia, along with many other Southern states, passed a series of laws known as Jim Crow laws that broadly supported racial segregation and codified it into law. When the U.S. Supreme Court later introduced the idea of “separate but equal” with the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson, it further legitimized segregation and encouraged Southern states to expand the scope of their enforcement. This period, known as the Jim Crow era, officially lasted until the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Many buildings in Cartersville still carry vestiges of our segregated past. If you enter the train depot you can still see a remnant, in the back hallway, of the separate black and white ticket windows and waiting rooms.

Other buildings in downtown Cartersville bear witness to this history of racial segregation as well. Both of Cartersville’s historic courthouses had segregated balconies where African Americans were required to sit. The Grand Theatre had a separate entrance for black movie patrons, which led to a segregated seating section. At both Ross’s Diner and 4-Way Lunch, one can still see the separate entrances designated for African American diners, who were required to sit at segregated counters at the rear of the buildings adjacent to the kitchen areas. Pharmacies, gas stations, grocery stores, retail shops, parks, libraries-- virtually no place existed where African Americans could occupy equal space or expect equal treatment during that period, which lasted nearly 100 years after emancipation.