Joel Hurt: a 19th-century businessman who abused the convict leasing system
From slavery to convict leasing, one Atlanta businessman blurred the lines between the two. Photo Courtesy of GSU Library Archives
Joel Hurt, an Atlanta Businessman of the late 1800s to the early 1900s and co-founder of Suntrust Bank, is credited with building the Atlanta we see today. He is the man behind The Hurt Building on 33 Hurt Plaza, featured in the Golden Globe-nominated series “Lovecraft Country,” the Equitable Building and the Inman Park neighborhood’s development.
However, people do not say much about how Joel Hurt contracted labor from prisons to create materials for his buildings.
servants act with courage and integrity, they re almost always right. and this was certainly something that joel wasn t doing as part of thinking about politics. and we didn t spend much time considering that in the brief moments that i knew. again, because you ve seen the video and the delivery of those words. there is something so powerful in their clarity and their honesty that it is obviously the right thing to say. and i think what people see is the joel that i know and love and i get the chance to be with. all the time. and it is very gratifying. and you know, it is painful to watch. it hurts me to see joel hurt and
watch. it hurts me to see joel hurt and to see him be very present in those moments. i think that s what is so powerful for the teens that may be there, to see you can survive that hurt with love and support. joel burns, did you have any time doubt when s you were approaching the microphone as to whether you should or shouldn t do it? a little. i had written this on tuesday during a lunch break. i knew home. i knew i would cry when i wrote it so i figured i need to be somewhere where could i do that. i knew it would be hard to deliver. i knew he would be very busy with the meetings, that he was worried about me being able to do that and i thought about my own parents. as you saw in the video, i really considered, i got to the point of having to really talk about the specifics of that day. and i just had this realization, this vision of my parents listening to the specifics of that.