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Benjamin Mays
[born^]
He was a leader for African American Rights and is often called MLK's mentor. He went to college and then went to India to talk to Ghandi. He adopted many non violent ways to bring change in America. -
Lester Maddox
[born^]
He was the last pro-segregationalist governor. He had a restaurant that he closed instead of intergrating it. He was a big player in politics and ran many campaigns for Mayor, Governor, and even President. He was Governor for one term and then Lieutenant Governor. As L.Governor, he fought with Gov. Jimmy Carter over many issues. -
MLK
[born^]
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the most famous Georgian. He got a Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards civil rights. He was probably the most famous civil rights leader because of his non violent ways. He changed many people's views of segregation and race equality,
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm -
Blacks end White Primary in GA
White primary was used by southern whites to keep blacks from voting in the Democratic primary. This pretty much kept blacks from really voting bc Democrats held a lot of power. In 1944, some blacks tried to vote in the primary but told that they couldn't. They took their case to court in the King v. Chapman et al., case. The federal court ruled that white primary was unconstitutional and Gov Arnell let white primary die. -
1946 Governor's Race
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zgc_7QypH0Kind of ruined GA's reputation. This election led to segregational governors.
3 men claimed the governor's seat after this election. Eugene Talmadge was elected to another term but then he died. His supporters secretley wrote in Herman Talmadge on the ballots. But according to GA law, the lieutenant governor (Melvin Thompson should be governor. And the current governor, Ellis Arnall, would not give up his seat.
Eventually in 1948 a special election was called and Talmadge was elected. -
Brown vs. BOE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTGHLdr-iakIn this court case the Supreme Court said that segregation violated the Constitution. The ruling also said all schools must be intergrated. But a lot of southern legislations (including GA's) did not follow this ruling. It passed a BUNCH of laws to NOT intergrate the schools. They also cut fundng for schools that did intergrate and let the governnor close schools.
Then in Atlanta, the HOPE movement was made. [Help Our Public Education] It wanted schools to be open no matter what. -
1956 State Flag
In 1956, the Georgia General Assembly changed the state flag to a Confederate flag that was adopted by hate groups like the KKK. They changed the flag to show their resentment against the new desegregation laws. -
Holmes and Hunter want to go to UGA
Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter were amazing students. They applied to UGA but didn't get in because of their race. After a lot of denials, they brought their case to court. The court ruled in favor of the students and they began classes in 1961. Soon after they joined, a mob of haters rioted and threw rocks at Hunter's dorm. They GA State Patrol escorted Hunter and Holmes off campus. The court let the students to be reinstated and return to UGA. They graduated and were successful. -
SNCC
[The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee]:
A prominent young people group for Civil RIghts in the 1960s. They wanted equal rights peacefully, through marches and sit-ins. They organized many successful sit-ins in Atlanta. -
Sibley Commision
John Sibley was a segregationalist lawyer. He helped Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver, who didn't know whether or not to integrate schools and wanted voter input, have surveys to know where Georgians stood on the matter to intergrate schools. He found that 60% of Georgians would rather close schools than intergrate them. Sibley wanted to intergrate schools just a little. But the governor and legislation didn't want to. So when UGA intergrated and they couldn't close it, they followed Sibley. -
Albany Movement
IN 1961, the SNCC and local community protested the segragation of the city. The police chief used non-violent tactics to put MANY demonstrators in jail. Some were sent to other counties' jails. MLK tried to help but was jailed many times as well. At the end, too many demonstrators were jailed to protest. Though the Albany Movement did not desegragate the entire community, many called it a learning experience.
http://dp.la/exhibitions/exhibits/show/activism/movements/albany-movement -
Andrew Young
He was a civil rights activist and pushed for voter registration drives. In 1961 he joined the SCLC to help mentor activists in starting and participating in non-violent protests. He was very close MLK. He successfully organized many demonstrations throughout the South. He was elected GA's first black Congressman. Then Jimmy Carter made him an UN ambassador. Then he was the mayor of Atlanta in 1981. He grew the city a lot as mayor. He is still working on many organizations today. -
March on Washington
A quarter of a million people got together in Washington DC to promote civil rights. They were led by MLK who said his "I have a Dream" speech there.
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington/videos -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
This law did not allow discrimination because of gender or race when hiring, promoting or firing. It was signed into law by Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson. -
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
http://www.history.com/speeches/lyndon-johnson-signs-voting-rights-act-rev1#lyndon-johnson-signs-voting-rights-act-rev1Did not let states put laws to deny the right of anyone to vote because of their race. -
Maynard Jackson
He was the first black mayor of a major southern city (Atlanta). He was Atlanta's mayor for 12 years. While he was mayor he made more black-owned businesses and expanded the airport. He added more black officers to the police force. He also worked to get the Olympics to the city. The airport was renamed in his honor.
