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Benjamin Mays Birth
Benjamin Mays was the longtime president of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He filled a leadership role in several significant national and international organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the YMCA, the World Council of Churches, and the United Negro Fund. He was born in a rural area in South Carolina. -
Benjiman Mays Goes To College
After a tough childhood, he had to work hard to get into Bates College in Maine. After earning a Bachelor's Degree in 1920, he went to the University of Chicago in 1935. Mays became a mentor to the famous Martin Luther King Jr around 1940 when Benjiman became the president of Morehouse College. He wrote about ideas of the dignity of all human beings and the incompatibility of American democratic ideas for the civil rights movement in the a few years. -
1946 Governor's Race
Eugene Talmadge was elected governor in December, 1946, but died the next month. Ellis Arnall, the outgoing governor, figured he was still governor because there was no one to replace him.
Herman Talmadge (Eugene’s son) thought he should be governor because he had received write-in votes during the ’46 election.
Georgia ended up having another election and Herman won. -
Herman Talmadge
[Herman Talmadge Video](http:/archive.org/details/longines-talmadge)Herman Talmadge became governor for a brief time in early 1947 and then again from 1948 to 1954. After his father died after winning his fourth election for governor the General Assembly elected Herman Talmadge as governor. Talmadge took office in January 1947, but two months later the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional. Talmadge ran against Melvin Thompson in 1948, but easily won. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Segregation in Education A couple of families wanted their black kids to go to a certain school, but the school would not let them because they weren't white, The families filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. This case went all the way up to the Supreme Court and they ended up ruling that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. -
1956 State Flag
After much discussion in Georgia's government, they agreed to change the flag because they disagreed with integration of public schools. -
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinatiing Committee (SNCC) had it's official meeting in Atlanta on May 13, 1960. This organization led many sit-ins at racially segregated lunch counters and freedom rides on buses. They also played a leading role in the March on Washington. -
Hamilton Homes and Charlayne Hunter
On September 2, 1960, Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter filed a civil suit against UGA for the repeated refusal of their college applications. At trial, Judge William Bootle issued a ruling stating that Holmes and Hunter “would have already been admitted had it not been for their race and color.” -
Sibley Commission
Sometime in Janruary of 1961 Governor Ernest Vandiver Jr. created a bill that would desegregate schoolsl. Long before this happened in 1960, the governor had the choice to either close all public schools or desegregate them. He created the Sibley Commision. Run by John Sibley, their job was to figure out the solution to the governor's dilemma by holding public hearings. After ten hearings, even though most of Georgia wanted segregation, Sibley said desegregation was the best option. -
Albany Movement
The Albany Movement was a desegregation coalition formed in Albany, Georgia, on November 17, 1961 by local activists, In December 1961, Martin Luther King, Jr became involved in assisting the Albany Movement with protests against segregation/ -
March on Washington
March on Washington Video This is to be considered as one of the largest political rallies for human rights in US history. On this date, Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial. -
Civil Rights Act
VideoThe Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on color, race, religion, gender, or national origin. It also ended racial segregation in schools and in public. -
Lester Maddox
Lestor Maddox became Governor of Georgia in this year. After refusing to the serve black customers in his Atlanta restaurant in defiance of the Civil Rights Act he was known a segregationist. -
Maynard Jackson
Maynard Jackson was the first African American to serve as mayor of any major southern city. He worked closely with Andrew Young and helped bring the 1996 Olympic Games to Atlanta. -
Andrew Young
Andrew Young was voted Mayor of Atlanta on this date, As Mayor, he helped expand programs that assisted minorities and female-ownded businesses. He has also been a Congressman and the US Ambassador for the United Nations. -
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King SpeechOn this day, a national holiday is given in Martin Luther King Jr.'s honor. He was a leader of the civil rights movement and gave hundreds of speeches including one of his most famous speechs. "I have a dream."
