DARKTOWN: Catching a Killer in 1948 Atlanta

DARKTOWN: Catching a Killer in 1948 Atlanta, “the latest & best in crime fiction”- The New York Times

The New York Times’ review of DARKTOWN says it all: “stand back and watch a white cop open an investigation in a black neighborhood in Atlanta, circa 1948.”  You do not want to miss this fascinating discussion about how the ripples of Atlanta’s segregationist history shape the rising social movements of our time.

In 1948, eight men became the first African American officers in the Atlanta police department.  Despite their badges, they could not arrest white suspects, drive squad cars, or enter the police headquarters.  This is the backdrop for Darktown: A Novel in which two white police officers refuse to investigate the murder of a black woman.

Award winning author Thomas Mullen, who lives near downtown Atlanta, and the Dean of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts at Georgia Institute of Technology and Council Board Member, Dr. Jacqueline Royster, will discuss the novel’s connections to Atlanta’s history linking the conflicts in the book – police violence, racism, segregation, and the role of women – with current economic segregation, and the #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo movements.