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Smith v. Albright Supreme Court Case
The Supreme Court ruled that the Texas white primary was unconstitutional. This decision forced Georgia to allow African Americans to vote in the Democratic Primary. -
MLK at Morehouse College
Martin Luther King Jr. enters Morehouse as an early-admission student at the age of 15 and was a student to Benjamin Mays, a longtime president of the institution. -
Poll Tax Abolished
The state of Georgia abolished the three-dollar poll tax, thus removing the financial obstacle to voting in the state. This finally eliminated the legal barriers that had stood in the way of black Georgians' right to cast ballots in state and local elections. -
End of the White Primary
Primus King, a Columbus native, was registered to vote and wanted to cast a ballot at the Muscogee Court House. He was immediately thrown out because of the color of his skin. However, he was represented by the NAACP and other lawyers. After getting rejected, he went to Oscar D. Smith Sr., a white attorney, who prepared lawsuit against members of the Democratic Party Committee, chaired by Joseph E. Chapman. The case of King v. Chapman took place in a federal district court in Macon. -
King v. Chapman et al. Court Decision
King's second principal lawyer, Harry S. Strozier, argued that King's suffrage under the 14th, 15th and 17th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution had been violated. Because of this statement, Federal Judge T. Hoyt Davis ruled in the favor of Primus King. -
The Three Governor's Controversy
Three Governors ControversyEllis Arnall's second term was soon to expire and an election is to be held. Just as a back-up plan, Eugene's supporters cast write-in votes for his son, Herman. After the general election, Eugene Talmadge became governor and Melvin Thompson was elected lieutenant governor. Eugene Talmadge died before he was officially sworn into office. Legislature chose Herman based on the size of write-in votes suddenly found after the general election. Arnall declared Thompson was the rightful successor. -
Governor's Office Malfunctions
Eugene Talmadge supporters broke into the governor's office, changed the door's locks and readied themselves to run the state. As a result of this political prank, Ellis Arnall set up a temporary office at the Capitol information center. Lieutenant Governor Melvin Thompson opened office in downtown Atlanta and began legal proceedings to become governor. -
MLK at Boston University
Martin Luther King Jr. earned a doctorate degree in theology from Boston University and while in Boston, he met and married Coretta Scott. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
Brown v. Board of Education Youtube VideoIn 1950, Linda Brown, a black student, tried enrolling in an all-white school in Topeka, Kansas. When her entry was denied, the NAACP and attorneys Thurgood Marshall and Robert Carter helped Linda's father sue the city's board of education. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the concept of "Separate but equal" established by the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case was unconstitutional. The Court ordered the racial integration of schools "with all deliberate speed." -
You and Segregation
A book entitled, "You and Segregation" was written by Herman Talmadge to negatively criticize the May 1954 Supreme Court ruling against segregation -
Rosa Parks Arrested
Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. This action soon sparked the eleven-month struggle known as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott Arrests
Martin Luther King Jr. as well as 89 other civil rights leaders were found guilty of violating an outdated 1921 antilabor law forbidding boycotts. -
1956 State Flag Change
The Georgia state flag was changed to commemorate the upcoming centennial anniversary of the Civil War. However, many citizens viewed it as a reminder of slavery and others believed it served as a racial protest against the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling. -
Segregation on Public Transportation Outlawed
A news reporter handed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. a teletyped message from the national news service. The U.S. Supreme Court just upheld a district court ruling that made segregation on public transportation unconstitutional. The decision officially reached Montgomery on December 21st, 1956. -
Integrated Buses
Martin Luther King Jr. was among the first passenger to board an integrated bus. He sat next to a white minister for several blocks and no inciident occurred. -
MLK and the SCLC
Martin Luther King Jr. moved back to Atlanta as the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a group he helped form the year before. -
Formation of the Sibley Commission
Governor Ernest Vandiver Jr. was forced to decided between closing public schools or complying with federal orders for integration. So Griffin Bell, Vandiver's chief of staff, developed the idea of a commission that travels across Georgia to hear what citizens have to say. By a close 3 to 2 margin, Georgians said they would rather close schools than integrate them. As a result, the commission recommended that local school systems be allowed to decide if they would integrate or close them. -
Atlanta SNCC Sit-ins
Following a SNCC Conference held in Atlanta, members of the organization staged massive sit-ins at the lunch counters of several Atlanta department stores. -
UGA Admission for Holmes and Hunter
Ending Segregation at UGAUGA, with support from Governor Vandiver, allowed its first two black students to be escorted into the school by state patrol officers. Before, the two students applied to the university three times and were rejected due to "limited facilities." So, they hired attorneys and brought suit against the admission officials for discrimination in higher education. Three weeks after the court trial, Judge William Bootle ordered the university to admit them. -
Andrew Young's Life Changer
In Thomasville, Georgia, he immersed himself in civil rights and in organizing voter registration drives. Later, he left his position as a pastor to work with the SCLC. He assisted in "citizenship schools," workshops that taught non-violence to local people who have the potential to become leaders. He became the first African American since Reconstruction to be elected to Congress from Georgia. He was elected Atlanta's mayor in 1981. -
SNCC Experiments
Workers with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) decided to test the Supreme Court ruling against public transportation segregation by sitting in the "whites only" waiting room at the city's bus station and were quickly arrested. -
Formation of the Albany Movement
6 years ago (1951), the Interstate Commerce Commission prohibited segregation in interstate bus and train stations, following a Supreme Court decision. On this day, workers from both the NAACP and the SNCC decided to test the ruling by sitting in the "whites only" waiting room at the city's bus station and were quickly arrested. This prompted the African American community to unite and form the Albany Movement, led by Dr. William Anderson. -
Freedom Riders Coming to The South
Black and white "freedom riders" coming from northern states such as Virginia and Delware arrived in Albany to support the Albany Movement. They were arrested at the Central Railway Terminal. -
Kennedy's Television Address
John F. Kennedy BrainPOPPresident John F. Kennedy went on national television and described segregation as a moral crisis and told of his plans to ask Congress to pass a new civil rights law. Later that month, he sent to Congress what is considered to be the strongest civil rights bill in history. -
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
I Have A Dream Speech Audio Clipping The Civil Rights Movement staged its largest gathering, with as many as 250,000 participants at the March on Washington in Washington D.C. It was led by Martin Luther King Jr. and it was where he gave his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. -
JFK Assassination
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas as he rode in a motorcade through Dealey Plaza. -
Signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
On this day, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This landmark legislation made segregation illegal in all public facilities. This included restaurants, theaters , hotels, public recreational areas, schools and libraries. It also prohibited discrimination in business and labor unions. -
MLK Receives the Nobel Peace Prize
Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent resistance against overwhelming racial prejudice in America. -
Start of the Selma-Montgomery March
Martin Luther King Jr. met with civil rights leaders in Selma, Alabama to plan demonstrations and marches in support of voting rights. To call attention to the cause of voter's rights, he planned a march from Selma to the state capitol in Montgomery. -
Resistance Along the Selma-Montgomery March
The marchers encountered 200 state troopers equiped with billy clubs and tear gas and they were forced to fall back to Selma. To prevent this obstacle from strking again, Dr. King went to Montgomery to request a march permit, whcih was granted by a federal district court judge. -
Ongoing Support for the Selma-Montgomery March
More than 4,000 Americans of different races began te 50-mile walk to Montgomery and about 25,000 others joined the group to complete the march to the Alambama State Capitol. The march influenced Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965. -
Julian Bond Elected
A reapportionment election was held and Julian Bond, SNCC Founder and Communications Director, was elected to serve in the 136th District. During his term, he asked residents in the all-black district what they needed to live a better life and he found that most of their problems were economic or financial. Then, he created a platform which included a $2 minimum wage, improved urban renewal programs, repealing of the right-to work law, and an end to the literacy tests for voters. -
Lester Maddox- Before and After
20 years ago, he owned a restaurant called "the Pickrick" and it was the site for several sit-ins. After the Civil Rights Act was passed, he chose to close his restaurant rather than folllow through with integration. Three years later, he ran for governor and most people expeced him to restore all segregation laws. But the exact opposite occurred. He appointed more African Americans to state boards and commissions than all prior governors combined. He even integrated the Georgia State Patrol. -
MLK Assassination
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl ray was tried and convicted of King's murder. -
Maynard Jackson
Maynard Jackson became Atlanta's youngest and first African American mayor in January 1974. He tackled charges of police brutality, led the development and expansion of MARTA and most significantly, he expanded Hartsfield International Airport into one of the largest and busiest airports in the world. In addition, he provided more municipal contracts to minority businesses in an attempt to strengthen the overall economy.
