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Benjamin Mays
Benjamin Mays was an African American US minister, educator, scholar, social activist, and president of Morehouse College located in Atlanta from 1940 to 1967. He was outspoken about his views on segregation before the civil rights movement had began in the United States. Mays held leadership in many organizations such as the NAACP, YMCA, the United Negro College Fund, National Baptist Church, etc. As well as being a strong believer in non violence, he was also a mentor to Martin Luther King. -
Governor's Race
Eugene Talmadge was elected governor of Georgia, but died before taking office. His supporters had anticipated Eugene's death and had prepared a write-in, Eugene's son Herman Talmadge, as a back-up. This ensued an arguement between Herman, Melvin Thompson, the lieutenant governor, and Eliis Arnall, the former governor. Thompson expected governor to fall to him because he was second-in-command, but Herman claimed governor as his. Arnall refused to leave office until the crisis had ended. -
End of White Primary
Democratic white primary was ruled unconstitutional due to the 14th amendment, specifically the "equal protection" clause. -
Governor's race ended
After the case of who was to be gvernor was brought to the Georgia Supreme Court, Melvin E. Thompson was ruled governor. -
Herman Talmadge
In 1947, Herman Talmadge was elected as the 70th governor of Georgia. He was the son of Eugene Talmadge. Herman became known for being against desegregation and the civil rights legislation, but reached out to African American voters in the 1970s. -
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Herman Talmadge re-election
Talmadge was governor once again from 1948-1955.. -
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Andrew Young
Through the 1950s and 60s, Andrew Young assisted in organizing voter registration in southern cities. Andrew Young was known for being a politician, human rights activist, businessman, and helping Atlanta become an international city. He worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC. -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Five cases all involving African-American families wanting their children to go to superior "whites only" schools were combined under one name and brought to the Supreme Court. In 1954, it was ruled that segregation in schools violated the "equal protection" clause of the 14th amendment which overruled the previous ruling of Plessy vs. Ferguson. However, schools did not begin desegregating until the following year. -
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Herman Talmadge in the Senate
Talmadge served in the Senate from 1956 to 1980 when he lost to Republican Mack Matting. -
End of bus segregation
A protest in Montgomery, Alabama led by Martin Luther King resulted in the Supreme Court ruling bus segregation in Alabama unconstitutional. -
1956 State Flag
The Georgia flag was changed to include the Confederate Flag in protest of desegregation and the 1954 and 1955 Brown vs. Board of Education rulings and decisons. -
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Martin Luther King Jr..
In this eleven-year time period Martin Luther King Jr led protests, marches, demonstrations, speeches, boycotts, wrote books, was arrested, assualted, and even met with John F. Kennedy. King promoted non-violence, studied at Morehouse College under Benjamin Mays, and founded SCLC. -
SNCC
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was founded by leaders of a sit-in protest earlier in the year. One of the leaders was Julian Bond who later went on to become a member of the US Senate for Georgia. The SNCC was independent of the SCLC, but they worked together in the non-violent protest of segregation. -
Sibley Commission
Governor Ernest Vandiver Sr. was burdened with the decision of whether to close schools or desegregate them. To help with the decision, he formed a committee with John Sibley as a leader. Sibley was chosen because he was against desegregation, but also understood the difficulty mass resistance would cause. After several hearings, Sibley decided to give each school district the power to create their own policies on integration and pushed for state laws punishing integrated schools to be repealed. -
Integration in UGA
Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter were two African American students who were admitted to UGA by a federal judge. However, Vandiver protested by closing UGA, but the federal judge ruled that the school was not closed and the students were admitted. -
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Albany Movement
The Albany movement was the first mass movement in the civil rights era to attempt to desgregate an entire community. However, because the movement attempted to end all types of segregation instead of focusing on one, it failed. Nearly 500 African Americans were non violently jailed. Even though it failed, it gave Martin Luther King Jr, recruited by the SNCC and the NAACP, the knowledge needed to succeed in the protest in Birmingham. -
March on Washington
Over 200,000 Americans came to the March on Washinton for Jobs and Freedom to bring attention to the political and social challenges African Americans faced. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech here. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was inspired by the March on Washington and it outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and was intended to end segregation. Although opposed by many such as Senator Richard B. Russell, it was eventually passed by the Senate and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. -
Lester Maddox
Maddox was elected as a governor for Georgia because he was notorious for being against desegregation, but he ended up being suprisingly progressive on many racial matters and appointed several African Americans to government positions. Maddox also supported prison reform and increasing university budgets. -
Death of MLK
Martin Luther King was assasinated on April 4th, 1968. -
Andrew Young to House of Representatives
Andrew Young became the first African American appointed to the House of Representatives since Reconstruction. -
Maynard Jackson
Maynard Jackson defeated the popular Sam Massell to become the first African American mayor of a major American city (Atlanta). Jackson helped bring the 1966 Olympic Games to Atlanta, helped minoriity businesses, and built a new terminal at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. -
Andrew Young in UN
Young was appointed as an United States Ambassador for the United Nations by President Carter. -
Herman Talmadge denounced
The Senate denonced Herman Talmadge in 1979 for financial misconduct.
