1987 Forsyth County protests
1987 CE.
Shown on the map at 34.206°, -84.140°.
The 1987 Forsyth County protests were a series of civil rights demonstrations held in Forsyth County, Georgia, in the United States. The protests consisted of two marches, held one week apart on January 17 and January 24, 1987. The marches and accompanying counterdemonstrations by white supremacists drew national attention to the county. The second march was attended by many prominent civil rights activists and politicians, including both of Georgia's U.S. senators, and attracted about 20,000 marchers, making it one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in United States history. At the time, Forsyth County was a rural county about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Atlanta that had a history of violence and discrimination against African Americans, being a sundown county that was almost entirely populated by white Americans. In light of this, in 1987, a local resident announced plans for a march to occur on the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr. Day to draw attention to the county's history and continuing problems with race.
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