Encyclopedia article about John Wesley Dobbs, referred to as the unofficial mayor of Auburn Avenue, one of several distinguished African American civic and political leaders who worked to achieve racial equality in segregated Atlanta during the first half of the twentieth century. Dobbs attended Atlanta Baptist College before his mother's ill health forced him to drop out and care for her. He never earned a college degree but studied independently and passed a civil service exam that allowed him to become a railway mail clerk for the U.S. Post Office in Atlanta. Dobbs was a member of the Prince Hall Masons, a fraternal order that attracted socially conscious leaders within the black middle class. He was also involved in founding the Atlanta Civic and Political League and the Atlanta Negro Voters League.

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Cite as: "John Wesley Dobbs (1882-1961)," New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved [date]: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org.

Forms part of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.