HR189: HR189 Dr. Roy Charles Bell Memorial Bridge; Fulton County; dedicate

This resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives honors Dr. Roy Charles Bell, an Atlanta dentist and civil rights figure who died after a career that included challenging racial segregation in dental associations. The resolution recounts his life: born in North Little Rock, Arkansas in 1926, educated at Howard University and its dental school, one of the first African American dentists to practice in Atlanta, and a plaintiff in a 1964 lawsuit that ended segregation in the Georgia Dental Association and the American Dental Association. He also worked as a special projects coordinator for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The operative part of the resolution dedicates the bridge carrying Interstate 85/75 over Edgewood Avenue Southeast in Fulton County as the Dr. Roy Charles Bell Memorial Bridge. It directs the Georgia Department of Transportation to erect and maintain signs marking the dedication, and directs the Clerk of the House to send copies of the resolution to Dr. Bell's family and to the department.

• Dedicates the bridge carrying Interstate 85/75 over Edgewood Avenue Southeast in Fulton County as the Dr. Roy Charles Bell Memorial Bridge.
• Directs the Georgia Department of Transportation to erect and maintain signs marking the bridge's new name.
• Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to distribute copies of the resolution to Dr. Bell's family and to the Department of Transportation.
• Recites Dr. Bell's biography and civil rights history as the basis for the honor, without changing any other Georgia law.

The resolution most directly affects the Georgia Department of Transportation, which must install and maintain the memorial signage, and the family of Dr. Roy Charles Bell, who will receive copies of the resolution. It also affects motorists on Interstate 85/75 in Fulton County who will see the new bridge name.

The resolution does not change any laws or funding; its main real-world effect is a physical change, new signs marking the bridge in Fulton County, and a formal public record honoring Dr. Bell's role in desegregating dentistry organizations and the Civil Rights movement.

• The resolution recites Dr. Bell's biography, including his 1964 lawsuit that ended segregation in the Georgia Dental Association and later the American Dental Association.
• The operative resolving clause dedicates the Interstate 85/75 bridge over Edgewood Avenue Southeast in Fulton County as the Dr. Roy Charles Bell Memorial Bridge.
• A further resolving clause authorizes and directs the Department of Transportation to erect and maintain appropriate signs for the dedication.
• A final clause directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies of the resolution to Dr. Bell's family and the Department of Transportation.

1. 2025-02-10House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-06House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-05House Hopper (House)

• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)Primary sponsor
• Phil Olaleye (D, HD-059)
• Inga Willis (D, HD-055)
• Karen Bennett (D, HD-094)
• Sharon Cooper (R, HD-045)

• memorial bridge dedication
• Fulton County
• civil rights history
• Georgia Department of Transportation