-
Three Governor's Race/Controversy
Herman Talmadge CommentsEugene Talmadge had died before he could take office. As a result, his supporters thought to write in Herman Talmadge for governor instead. Though if the governor died, than the lieutenant gov. (Melvin Thompson) would take over the job. Both claimed to be the governor and Arnall refused to give up his position until it was clear who the governor was.
Arnall later left and the Supreme Court decided that Thompson was the rightful governor. Later, Talmadge won the special election in Sept. 1984. -
End of White Primary
-Oct. 5 1945 was when P. King's ruling happened, but the End of the White Primary was in 1946 The white primary was challenged by Primus E. King, who was denied the right to vote in Columbus. The case was taken to federal court and was ruled in his favor. The ruling allowed for more participation from blacks in politics and resulted in more than 116,000 blacks registering to vote. -
Herman Talmadge Elected Governor
Herman Talmadge had one the special election earlier in 1948 and served for two years. Later in 1950, he would defeat Melvin Thompson and earn a full four year term.
As governor, he helped the timber industry grow and gathered more money for education. He was against desegregation and attempted to prevent integration of the schools. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Implementation Decree
-Date is when ruling was delivered
In a previous case, "equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races" were allowed. This was later challenged when a father couldn't send his daughter to a certain school because it only allowed white children, also saying that the colored schools could never be equal.
The unanimous decision declared that "separate but equal" wasn't equal at all and violated the 14th Amendment. After this event many started a jump for civil rights. -
State Flag Change
In response to the outcome of the Brown vs. Board of Education case, Georgia added the Confederate flag onto the state flag in 1956. It was always a controversial change that offended many African Americans and modern leaders. The flag change ended up having Georgia's tourist industry wreck and lose millions of dollars. The damage didn't just apply to Georgia, but other states that used the Condederate flag as well. The flag was changed in 2001. -
SNCC
Video
-Founded sometime in April The SNCC was originally created to protest segregated areas in the schools of their members with sit-ins. They led non-violent protests against segregation and racism in general. The SNCC had Freedom Singers that preformed in Albany (see Albany Movement) to raise funds and support protesters. They were also involved in events such as March on Washington and sit-ins in Atlanta. -
Hunter and Holmes Enrolled into UGA
Charalayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes were the first black students to be enrolled into the University of Georgia. There were many against this decision, in fact 3/2 of Georgians thought that closing UGA would have been better than enrolling the two.
Though several people didn't want the schools integrated, this event opened the doors for many others to allow colored students. During the year, all counties had to either integrate their schools or take a cut from federal funds. -
Albany Movement Begins
-Albany Movement started in fall, not Aug, 1 specifically
The Albany Movement's goal was to desegregate the city. The SNCC arrived to set up a voter registration drive and pushed others to oppose against segregation. Many protests were done during this time.
All segregation laws in the city commission were either removed or questioned in the spring after the Albany Movement ended(1962). The voter registration drives were also successful, resulting in many more black voters than there used to be. -
March on Washington
Video
With previous marches planned, the prior events led up to the March on Washington.
Over 200,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to show and gather support for civil rights laws. During the event, there were several prayers, songs, and speeches given and performed for the people.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech was given here. -
Civil Rights Act Signed
The Civil Rights Act banned discrimination based on race, gender, and religion in public accomodations. It also banned discrimination against those same things in voter registration. It basically provided a stronger shield to the Fourteenth Amendment and was a very important civil rights legislation. -
Lester Maddox Becomes Governor
He defeated Ellis Arnall, who during that time was growing more and more unpopular with the citizens. He appointed more African Americans to commissions and state boards than all past governors combined. He also integrated the State Patrol and appointed many of the first African American members to jobs like the Board of Pardons and Paroles and reformed state prisons. Maddox was also the first governor to be elected lieutenant governor after his term ended. -
Martin Luther King Jr.'s Assassination
Short Bio
Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Tennesee. He was an important advocate for the civil rights moment. -
Andrew Young
Andrew Young worked for the SCLC to help uneducated blacks and also assisted Martin Luther King Jr. at one point. He helped keep the transition with desegregation peaceful.
In 1972, Young was the first African American to be elected into the House of Representatives since Reconstruction.
He was one of the people that made Atlanta a city "too busy to hate." Another person would be Benjamin Mays who became part of the Board of Education in Atlanta. -
Maynard Jackson Sworn In
Maynard Jackson was the first African American to become mayor of Atlanta, as well as being the youngest mayor.
He gave local communities a part in politics and improved emergency services like fire departments.
