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Benjamin Mays
He was a very active civil rights leader who did whatever he could to ensure equality for African Americans.He truly belived in education and religion. On this date, Mays accepted to be president of the Atlanta Morehouse College where he did much to help the college in its time of desperation. This is where Martin Luther King Jr. attended where Mays acted as a mentor for King. King was inspired by Mays' passion for civil rights. -
End of White Primary
Primus E. King was denied when he tried to vote for the Deomocratic Party's primary in Georgia. He took the case to court against the chair of the Muscogee County Deomocratic Party Executive Party.He won on this date because the Supreme Court had already ruled White Primaries unconstiutional in Texas. This was extrmely important because blacks had the right to vote and used their right as much as they could, forcing candidates to compete for their votes. -
1946 Govenor's Race Part 2
Talmade removed Arnall, but at the same time Thompson took the entire case to the Georgia Supreme Court. The court ruled Thompon as govenor. The whole event reflected poorly on Georgia. Herman Talmadge was elected govenor in later years. After that, he was elected to the U.S. Senate where he worked against desegregation. -
1946 Govenor's Race Part 1
Talmadge speaks of the raceThe race included Herman Talmadge, Melvin Thompson, and Ellis Arnall. Eugene Talmade died before he could be inaugurated as govenor, so the General Assembly had to vote who would be the next govenor: Melvin Thompson, the lieutenant govenor-elect, or Herman Talmadge, a write-in candidate. Talmadge was chosen, but outgoing govenor, Ellis
Arnall, refused to leave office. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Brown vs. Board of EducationThis case was actually made up of five different cases about segregation in schools that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Oliver Brown claimed that the fact that his daughter couldn't go to a white school was against the 14 Amenment. The court unanimously voted in favor of integration of public schools. This was a huge step in gaining equality in the Civil Rights Movement. -
1956 State Flag
Atlanta Attorney, Jhon Bell vouched for a change in the state flag. It was changed to the Confederate battle flag with the state seal. It was said to have been used to honor the anniversary of the Civil War, but it really was a way to show Georgia's strong opposition against the Supreme Court's decision to integrate public schools. Its show of white supremacy indented the belief into Georgia's reputation of desegregation. This symboled that Georgia was not easily going to change its way of life. -
Sibley Commission and Holmes and Hunter in UGA
Gov. Ernest Vandiver Jr. got the legislature to make the General Assembly Committee on Schools (Sibley Commission) to find out what the people thought on desegregation in schools. The head of the Committee thought that massive resistance would hurt the state. When Hunter and Holmes were accepted into UGA, anger erupted because they were black.Vandiver wanted to close the school but that would make conflict with the government. So laws were made to stop massive resistance for desegreagation. -
The Albany Movement
Albany movement 1961-1962The SNCC and th NAACP joined forces with other groups to protest peacefully against segregation in all aspects of social life in Albany, GA. The SNCC stands for Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee. Students organized sit-ins to protest against segregation. Julian Bond, a Georgian and to-be U.S. senator was a leader of it. Despite the bringing in of MLK, the movement was unsuccessful, but lessons were learned by all to carry them through the civil rights movement even further. -
Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King Jr. was often seen as the leader of the civil rights movement. He was a preacher who, with all his soul, belived in racial equality for all. He's from Atlanta, but he lead a bus boycott in Alabama, causing him to get arrested. In jail, he wrote the letter which sparked the movement. King used the philosophy of Ghandi which was non-violent protest. MLK founded the SCLC. He kept his values until the day he was assisinated on April 4, 1968. -
March on Washington
March on WashingtonHundreds of thousands of people all showed up at the capital of the U.S. to protest against the discrimination present in the country. Though marshalls were sent, there was no violence, everyone demonstrated peace. This was where MLK gave his historical "I Have a Dream" speech. This was where America made a major statement on civil rights. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964JFK introduced the Civil Rights Act to congress. Its purpose was to end discrimination in all aspects of social life, such as schools, shops, employment. After the president's assasination, Lyndon B. Jhonson took up the job. Despite efforts to stop the act from southern democrats in the sentate such as Georgian Richard Russel, the act was passed on this date, ensuring equality for everyone. -
Lester Maddox: Govenor
Lester Maddox was a segregationist in Georgia. He became famous when he closed his restaurant in Atlanta instead of desegregating it. He bacame govenor on this date. He surprised the public greatly by employing many African Americans as his staff. He increased funding for Georgia's schools and started "Little People's Day", where people could go talk to the Govenor. -
Andrew Young
On this date, Young took office as a congresman. He was the first African American to do so from Georgia since Reconstruction. Prior, he worked with MLK in the SCLC to stop desegregation. He worked with president Jimmy Carter on foreign policy, and Carter appointed him as ambassador to the United Nations. When Young returned to Atlanta, he was elected mayor in 1981 after Manyard Jackson. -
Manyard Jackson
Manyard Jackson was elected as the first black mayor of Atlanta. At this time, blacks outnumbered whites in Atlanta. While in office, he accomplished many things. He added to Hartsfield airport, making it the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. He stopped mistreatment of blacks by the police, and he worked with Andrew Young to bring the 1996 Olympics to Atlanta.
