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Benjamin Mays
Benjamin Mays was best known for being the president of Morehouse College; he became president in 1940. At Morehouse, he taught Martin Luther King Jr., and Mays was a mentor to him. Benjamin Mays was also a leader in the NAACP. -
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Controversy of the three governors in Georgia
In 1946, it was time for Georgians to elect a new governor. In the democratic primary, Eugene Talmadge won and became the democratic candidate, and was ensured to be Governor, because the republicans did not have a candidate. Unfortunately, Talmadge lately had poor health, and therefore since his close advisors feared he would not live to start his term, they made a secret plan for a few hundred supporters to choose Talmadge's son Herman as their 2nd gubernatorial choice. (continued) -
3 governors controversy (continued)
(read timespan first) Then, the general election was over and Eugene Talmadge was elected governor with his lieutenant governor, Melvin Thompson. As expected, Eugene Talmadge died before he was sworn in. The controversy was that the legislature declared Herman Talmadge as governor because of the number of write-in votes for him, but Governor Arnall (who was the previous governor) said that the lieutenant govervor, Thompson, was supposed to be governor. In March, Thompson was declared Governor. -
The end of the white primary
The white primary, which was a way of permitting only whites to vote in the Democratic primary, was abolished in 1946 in Georgia. -
Herman Talmadge
After the 3 governors debate, and the special election of 1950, Herman Talmadge was governor of Georgia. His main influence as governor was leading a new state constitution which expanded schools to grades 1-12. The General Assembly also passed the Minimum Foundation Program for Education Act which improved school related standards and lengthened the school year to 9 months. He also improved soil conservation programs, county health departments, and the state prison system. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown vs Board of Education-videoBrown v. Board of Education was a case that involved a black student, Linda Brown, and she wwanted to enroll in an all white school. They rejected her application and then the NAACP helped Linda's father sue the Board of Education. Finally, 4 years later after her attempt in enrollment, the Supreme Court said that seperate-but-equal schools were unconstitutional. The Court also ordered racial integration of all schools. -
1956 GA State flag
In 1956, the Georgia state flag was changed. The new flag (on left) now had the confederate battle symbol. This change hurt the economy of Georgia because of a huge loss in the tourism industry because it displayed a symbol of Georgia's past. The new flag offended many African-Americans and many people wanted to change it. A different flag was introduced on January 31 which incorporated Georgia's first state flags. The flag was finally changed again in 2004. -
The Sibley commission
In 1960, the Georgia general assembly organized a 14 member commission to study the growing problem of segregation. This commission was led by attorney and banker John Sibley. Results gathered showed that people would rather close schools than integrate them by 3:2, so the commission then recommended that each school system should decide whether or not they integrate their schools. Another solution to the problem was to open private schools. -
SNCC
The SNCC, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was an organization that tested the law that prohibited segregation in interstate bus and train stations. The SNCC did this by sitting at the whites only area of the bus station, they were then arrested. Then with a bigger group of African American high school students, SNCC organizer James Forman led the group to the same train station as before and we're again arrested. The difference this time though was that the national press was there. -
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The Albany Movement
In 1961, Albany, Georgia became a center of Civil Rights activity. Even after Brown v. Board of Education, there were still segregated schools in Albany, and few African Americans were allowed to vote. In 1995, the interstate Commerce comission also prohibited segregation in train and bus stations, but after workers with the NAACP and SNCC tested the law by sitting in the whites only section, and they were quickly arrested. -
Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to UGA
debate over integration of UGAThe university of Georgia, on January 6, 1961, let in its first 2 black students. Many politicians and students from UGA would rather have closed the university than let the 2 black students in, and begged Governor Vandiver to do so. Although Governor Vandiver pledged not to integrate schools, and was elected for that pledge, he still allowed UGA to open its doors to the two African-Americans. -
March On Washington
I have a dream speech-exerpt
On August 28, 1963, thousands of people gathered in Washington, D.C. to protest and call for civil rights for African Americans and they listened to Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. -
Civil Rights Act
Civil rights act-videoPresident John F. Kennedy had plans to pass a new civil rights bill, and he talked about the growing problem of segregation in June 1963 on national television. After his speech, he sent his. civil rights bill to Congress. Unfortunately, Kennedy was not able to see the bill pass into law because he was assassinated on November 23, 1963. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was then sworn in and continued Kennedy's effort for civil rights and under his leadership, the bill became law in 1964. -
Lester Maddox
In 1967, Segregationist Lester Maddox surprisingly won the election over Governor Arnall in the Democratic primary. In the general election, the Democratic legislature chose Maddox. Although he used to be a segregationist, he appointed many African-Americans to government positions and integrated the Georgia State Patrol. He also increased teaching salaries and higher education. -
Martin Luther King is assassinated
M.L.K. assasination-abc news Martin Luther King Jr. fighted for civil rights and led the Montgomery Bus Boycott along with other nonviolent protests. His plan for civil rights for all Americans were 4-pronged: 1)direct, nonviolent actions, (2) Legal remedies, (3) ballots, and (4) economic boycotts. Unfortunately, he was assasinated on april 4, 1968. -
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Maynard Jackson GA mayor
Maynard Jackson was called the "ultimate mayor" by many and helped GA grow tremendously; he was also the youngest and first African American mayor. Some of his major achievements were: he further helped develop and expand MARTA and the Hartsfield international airport. He made changes to the fire and police departments, and city government. He established a Bureau of cultural affairs, and other art related projects. Finally, he also secured Atlanta as the host for the 1996 Olympic games. -
Andrew Young became Governor in Georgia
Some of Andrew Young's major accomplishments included assisting in an organization that helped teach nonviolent strategies for protesting, he was in the House of Reresentatives, and then was elected governor of Georgia in 1981
