sentences:  Even though Sledd's essay condoned the continued racial segregation of white and black Southerners as a necessary social expedient, a public firestorm ensued in Georgia over Sledd's criticism of the South's treatment of its black citizens, with the controversy stoked by the vitriolic letters and editorial attacks of agrarian populist Rebecca Felton in "The Atlanta Constitution" newspaper.As the controversy grew, "The Atlanta Journal" and "Atlanta News" quickly joined the anti-Sledd chorus.When a majority of the members of Emory's board of trustees threatened to withdraw their support of the college because of the negative publicity, the newly installed college president, James E. Dickey, demanded Sledd's resignation from the faculty, and Sledd resigned on August 9, 1902.