-
Benjamin Mays
More Info on Benjamin MaysBenjamin Mays became president of Morehouse College, where he would hold that position for 27 years. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most famous student at Morehouse. -
1946 Governor's Race
Also known as "The Three Governor's Race", the 1946 Governor's Race began when Governor Eugene Talmadge died and his son, Herman Talmadge was elected governor. Herman Talmadge, Melvin Thompson (the lieutenant governor), and Ellis Arnall (the previous governor) were fighting over the governor title. Thompson was demanding to be put into office, referring to the law, and Arnall refused to leave. Melvin Thompson was elected governor afte a year of court sessions and controversy. -
Herman Talmadge
Herman Talmadge BioTalmadge won a special election in 1948, serving the final two years of his father's term. Talmadge was reelected to another term in 1950. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
VideoBecause Linda Carol Brown was african american, she was refused admission into the closest school to her home--a designated white school. Her father and the NAACP worked together, taking the case to Supreme Court wherein black children were finally allowed to be educated with white children. -
1956 Flag
The legislators during 1956 were so determined to preserve the segregation in Georgia that they were willing to abandon public schools to prevent integration, but kept segregation in other recreational and transportation areas. The legislature also passed a law saying that if any police officer did not abide, they would remove their retirement benefits. These legislators also voted for a change in Georgia's flag to keep segregation at all costs. -
SNNCC
SNCCThe SNNCC, or Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was founded by student leaders who came to light in the sit-in protests started on Febraury 1st. They worked alongside the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) in the early years of the Civil Rights Movement. -
Sibley Commission
Video On School SegregationGovernor Ernest Vandiver Jr. was forced to decide whether to desegregate public schools or close them in order to comply with the Federal Government. The Sibley Commission was the committe founded to send Georgia citizens' opinions on desegregation to the Governor. The state was highly opinionated on keeping the segregation, avoiding a conflict between Vandiver and the federal government. -
Albany Movement
Lasting until 1962, the Albany Movement was the first mass movement in the era with a goal of desegregating an entire community. It ended with 1,000 of the protestors, including Martin Luther King Jr., being arrested and jailed. King said that even though Albany failed, Birmingham was a success. -
Hamiltion Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to UGA
They became the first african american students admitted to the University of Georgia. They were forced to leave for their safety from violence and protests, but after they came back on campus via court order, they completed their degrees despite the hatred and discrimination from the other students. -
Andrew Young
Young left work as a pastor to become a part of the SCLC with Martin Luther King, Jr., where he tought potential leaders the way to successfully nonviolently protest. He was a vital part in the desegregation movements in Albany, Birmingham, Washington D.C., etc. After King's assassination, Andrew Young won Georgia's fifth district seat in the US House of Representatives. In that same year--1972, Young was the first african american since Reconstruction to be elected to Congress from Georgia. -
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Famous "I Have a Dream" Speech
During the March on Washington (largest Civil Rights march), Civil Rights advocate Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the famous "I Have a Dream" Speech, describing how he saw a prosperous future for America if we look past our physcial differences and focus more on people's character. King's peaceful protests were driven by the unfair and unequal treatment of african americans becuase of their appearance. -
Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights ActSigned by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination in public places, made integraiton legal in schools in public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. This was the most signifigant document in the Civil Rights era opposing segregation. -
Lester Maddox
Lester Maddox Bio & Facts
Maddox was a segregationist governor of Georgia who continually tried to prevent african americasn into whites-only establishments. He did not approve of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s protests and view on the Civil Rights Movement. Maddox was said to have called King an "enemy of the country". -
Maynard Jackson as Mayor of Atlanta
Jackson was the first african american to serve as mayor in a large Southern city. He brought success and prosperity to Georgia's economy. His goal was to deprive the state of unequal treatment of african americans and to have them more highly regarded economically, politically, and socially. Jackson also worked to bring the Olympics to Atlanta in 1996
