OASIS in Atlanta

OASIS in Atlanta addresses the reasons Atlanta, GA did not experience the amount of racial unrest as in other Southern cities like Little Rock, AR; Birmingham, Al; and Augusta, GA. It highlights the dialogue between white and black Christian ministers in the city and the role one pastor, Dr. O. Norman Shands, played in cultivating that relationship.

Atlanta, GA has long been known as “The City Too Busy to Hate”. This has generally been credited to the relationship between the business community and the black intelligentsia. While true, a greater reason for this moniker was probably the dialogue that was created in the mid 1950’s between the white and black ministers in the city. Atlanta was the first major Southern city in which the white Christian ministers took a united, public stand on the Christian’s responsibilities in civil rights. Life Magazine carried the story on November 11, 1957. R.T. Sutcliffe, a New York Lutheran radio broadcaster, named the story the third most important religious story of 1957.

Director | Kevin Batts

Director | Janelle Batts

Producer | Bob Shands