09/01/2025
Born into slavery in Walton County, Ga, Alfred “Alf” Richardson, was one-half of an all-Black delegation from Clarke County elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1868 during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era.
The carpenter and businessman faced physical violence, hostility, and intimidation, and in the winter of 1871, his home on six acres of land along Tanyard Creek in Watkinsville was attacked by a group of 20 to 25 Ku Klux Klan members. Richardson was shot multiple times, and in self-defense he killed James Ponder. Richardson also survived at least one other assassination attempt by the K*K.
In 1872, Richardson testified before a congressional committee that it was not safe for him to go home, so he was staying in Athens, and that other "colored" people had been forced to flee their farms because they too, were in danger. He also spoke about being targeted at his home by “men in disguise” and said that he had been threatened, told of many cases of whippings, and that fellow "colored" people were faced with voter intimidation.
Richardson served in office until 1872, when, according to author Michael Thurmond, he died of pneumonia. He was roughly 40 years old. Previous historical accounts from K*K sympathizers claim he was murdered by the Klan.
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📸 Richardson’s signature on a voter registry.
