-
Benjamin Mays
Benjamin Mays, 1894 to 1984, was a mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. and a leading activist throughout the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Mays used nonviolent reforms and revolutions, such as sit-ins, marches, and protests, to prove his point. He focused prominently on education throughout his life and in 1940, Mays became the president of Morehouse College. Mays strengthened the school's academics and had many fundraisers. -
End of White Primary
The white primary was a way that Southerners could keep African Americans from voting in elections. In 1945, Dr Thomas Brewer and Primus E King, both black, tried voting in the white primary. They were both told that they could not votte and were required to be removed from the court house. Several other African Americans, along with Brewer and King, sued tje state for supporting segregation. Governor Ellis Arnall supported this ruling and ended the whitre primary. -
Election of 1946
This election is also known as the "Three Governors Controversy". Herman Talmadge, Eugene Talmadge's son, took his place as governor once Talmadge died. Ellis Arnall was the current governor and strongly disliked both Talmadge Sr. and Jr. Then, Leutenant Governor Melvin Thompson, of whom hated Herman and Eugene, appointed himself to governor. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The US Supreme Court decided that segregated schools were unconstitutional after the case of Brown v. Board of Education. However, the Georgia General Assemly were against the ruling and declarednthe decision as null. The General Assembly then let the Governor to close schools that were desegregated. Fortunately, many organizations fought for desegregation and in 1961, Atlanta was the first schoool system to integrate. -
Martin Luther King Jr.
MLK Jr. is known as one of the most influlential figures in Georgian history. Viewed as the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, he used non-violent protests and reforms. King graduated high school when he was only 15 and learned at Morehouse College, which was when Benjamin Mays mentored him. In 1955, he served as the spokesman for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and later spoke at the March on Washington. -
Herman Talmadge
Herman Talmadge was the son of former governor Eugene Talmadge. Eugene died during his fourth term and before his inaguration, so Herman took his spot. In 1956, he became part of the US Senate and served until 1981. He was a segregationalist and believed in white primaries. He expanded the academic school year to nine months and hugely supported education -
State Flag of 1956
The Georgia state flag was changed in 1956 to resemble the Confederate war flag, also known as the St. Andrew's Cross. This was very controversial and caused black and white Georgia citizens to feel offended. In 2001, the flag was changed to the present-day flag. -
Maynard Jackson
Maynard Jackson was the first African American mayor of Atlanta, a major city in the south. He attended Morehouse College when he was 18 and recieved his law degree. In 1968, Jackson ran against Herman Talmadge for Senator, but lost. He won the majority of votes from Atlanta and became widely known in politics. He became the first may in 1973 and became the mayor again in 1990. -
SNCC
SNCC, which stands for Student Non-Violent Coordinating Commitee, was a civil rights activists group. It was comprised of students in mainly high school and college who believed in desegregation. The organization became well known for their freedom meetings in Mississippi. The SNCC was successful by helping African Americans be appointed to a seat in the General Assembly. -
Sibley Commission
The Georgia General Assembly started massively resisting the desegregation of Georgia's public schools. Vandiver, the governor, faced the choices of either closing down public schools or following federal mandates. However, he did not want to make such a large decision so he created a committee to do research. John Sibley, a segregationist lawyer, found that 60% of Georgians would rather close public schools than integratet them. Sibey created the Sibley Commission which was a board of 14 people -
Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter
In 1959, two African Americans, Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter, applied to UGA. Despite both being very smart and involved during highschool, they were not accepted to UGA due to their race; the students took the case to the supreme court. After the court ruled in their favor, they went to the college on January 6, 1961. Once arrived, a mob of students and KKK members started riots, threatened, and threw objects at Holmes and Hunter. They both eventually graduated. -
Albany Movement
The Albany Movement of 1961 was created for SNCC members and desegregationalists to non-violently protest against segregation in Albany. However, resistance from the police and whites caused over 400 protestors to be jailed. The SNCC invited MLK to join them in the rally which would draw national attention to the event. King was jailed then immediately released. Although this movement was a failure, it allowed people to learn from their mistakes. -
Andrew Young
Andrew Young was an important figure in the Civil Rights Movement and focused on voter registration drives. In 1961, he started working for a desegregationist organization and trained civil rights volunteers in organizing non-violent protests. In 1972, Young was the first African American Congressman since the Reconstruction of Georgia. He helped Atlanta grow and brought the Olympics to Georgia. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The US Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Ciil Rights Act abolished discrimination regarding gender and race whilst hiring, promoting, or firing a person. The Voting Rights Act made it illegal to require voting qualifications or deny te right to any US citizen based on gender or race. This abolished the White Primary and other obstacles which formerly did not let African Americans vote. -
Lester Maddox
Maddox was one of the last segregaionist governors of Georgia. He opened a restaurant in 1947 and forcefully removed African Americans who tried integrating the restaurant. Instead of integrating, he closeddown the restuarant. In 1966, he beat Ellis Arnall form Governor in the Deomcratic primary and was a lieutenant governor after. He died of cancer in 2003 and never apoligized being a segregationist.
