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Benjamin Mays- President of Morehouse College
Benjamin Mays was president of Morehouse College starting in the 1940s and was there when Martin Luther King Jr. went to school there. He spoke out against segregation even before the Civil Rights Movement began. -
End of the White Primary
In 1946 the courts ruled that the White Primary in Georgia was unconstitutional because of the 14th amendment, so this was considered the end of the White Primary in Georgia. -
Governor Elections
In 1946 an argument over who would be governor of Georgia started between Herman Talmadge, Ellis Arnall, and Melvin E. Thompson. Eugene Talmadge was elected for his 4th term but died before taking office, the court then decided that Melvin E. Thompson was the legal governor. Later they had another election between Melvin E. Thompson and Herman Talmadge, Herman Talmadge ended up winning the election. -
Martin Luther King Jr.- Morehouse College
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the biggest leaders during the Civil Rights Movement. He was originally from Atlanta, GA and he graduated from Morehouse College in June 1948. -
Brown VS. The Board of Education
Brown VS. Board of Education document In the 1954 case of Brown VS. Board of Education segregated schools were declared unconstitutional. Most Southern states did not agree and in 1956 GA changed its flag to include the Confederate battle flag to protest the decision. -
SNCC
In 1960 the SNCC was founded and one of the leaders was a Georgia native and was later elected to the US senate for Georgia. The SNCC held sit ins at lunch counters and promoted voter registration in the South. -
Sibley Commission
In 1960 the Georgia goverment formed the Sibley Commission to ask Georgians how they felt about the Brown VS. Education decision. The results showed that Georgia had mixed feelings so it was recommened that each school district decide for itself and that state laws punishing integrated schools be repealed. -
Desgregation of the University of Georgia
The University of Georgia was integrates in 1961 and the first two African American students were Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter. -
Albany Movement
From 1961 to 1962 the Albany Movement involving the NAACP and the SNCC was trying to bring attention to the Civil Rights Movement by ending all segregation in Albany. Even though they had the help of Martin Luther King Jr. the attempt failed because they simply tred to do too much. -
"I Have A Dream"
"I Have a Dream" speech March on Washington On August 28, 1963 was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in which 250,000 participated. This was the day that Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have A Dream" speech. -
Passing the Civil Rights Bill
crash course on the Civil Rights MovementCivil Rights Bill In June 1964 the senate passed the Civil Rights Bill with a vote of 73 to 27, which ended segregation in all public places. This bill was signed into a law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. -
Lester Maddox
In 1966 Lester Maddox was elected as the governor of Georgia, and surprised a lot of people by hiring more African American people for government jobs than any other previous governor. This was surprising to most people because in 1964 he chose to close his Atlanta restaurant rather than abbide by the Civil Rights Act. -
Andrew Young
In 1972 Andrew Young became the first African American elected to the U.S. House of Representatives since reconstruction. Also all throughout the 1950s and 1960s he had worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC for desgregation. -
Maynard Jackson
In 1973 Maynard Jackson became the first African American mayor of a major American city in Atlanta, Georgia.
