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White primary abolished in Georgia
The White Primary kept blacks from voting because they could vote in the general election but not the primary, which pretty much decided the winner because we were a one-party state. In 1946, the King vs. Chapman case ruled this unconstitutional. In 1946, it was the first time blacks voted in the primary and truly had the right to vote. Info: http://tw0.us/Th Pic: http://tw0.us/ZZ -
Integration of the Armed Forces
During World War II, there had been both black soldiers and white soldiers. There was much discrimination because black soldiers did not rank as high up as white soldiers could. Most of the officers were white, and blacks were simply truck drivers. They fought separately. Then, on July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed the Executive Order 9981. This ordered that the armed forces be desegregated. Information: http://tw0.us/W9 Picture: http://tw0.us/Rv -
Brown vs. Board of Education
In 1951, Oliver Brown tried to enroll his daughter in a "white school" but was turned down because they were black. He filed suit against the Topeka Board of Education. The NAACP hired lawyers to fight for them. They lost at the state level and took it all the way to the Supreme Court. Then, on May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court decided it was unconstitutional to segregate the schools. This case ended segregation in public schools. Information: http://tw0.us/RJ Picture: http://tw0.us/WH -
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks, a black woman, was arrested for not giving up her bus seat to a white person. Dr. Martin Luther King heard about this, and many people decided they needed to boycott the bus company. So, African Americans refused to ride the bus the next day. It continued for over a year, and on November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court declared Alabama's rules to segregate their buses to be illegal. The boycott was a success. Information: http://tw0.us/Uj Picture: http://tw0.us/Ry -
Change to Georgia’s state flag
John Sammons Bell, Jefferson Lee Davis, and Willis Harden introduced a bill to add the confederate flag to the Georgia state flag. Some people had started wanting this since 1955. The new flag had the Confederate flag in it. This was controversial. Having the Confederate flag in it supposedly honored those who died in the Civil War, but it may have symbolized Georgia’s opposition to integration. Information: http://tw0.us/V9 Picture: http://tw0.us/Tb -
Crisis at Central High School and the “Little Rock Nine”
Nine African American students, Green, Eckford, Thomas, Roberts, Lanier, Trickey, Karlmark, Mothershed-Wair, and Beals, attempted to enter and therefore integrate Central Highschool in Arkansas. Governor Orval Faubus called the National Guard to prevent them from doing so. President Dwight D. Eisenhower stopped this and had troops make sure they allowed the nine students to go here. Eight of the nine finished the year. Info: http://tw0.us/WU Pic: http://tw0.us/WV -
Hebrew Benevolent Congregation in Atlanta Bombed
On October 12, 1958, the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple in Atlanta was bombed. No one was hurt because the building was empty, but the group claiming responsibility said that all nightclubs refusing to fire their Negro employees will also be blown up and that they are going to blow up all Communist organizations. They declared Negroes and Jews to be aliens. The group might have been targeting the Temple’s Rabbi, who was a supporter of civil rights. Both Info and Pic: http://tw0.us/VL -
Sibley Commission
Most school systems in Georgia had refused to integrate their schools. The General Assembly said they would cut off state funding if schools integrated. Therefore, the Sibley Commission was established. John Sibley was the head. They interviewed people about the problem and found that Georgians were really against integration, so they recommended that school systems could decide whether or not they wanted to be integrated. Many communities opened up private schools. BOTH:http://tw0.us/Ti -
Integration of the University of Georgia
Federal district court Judge W. A. Bootle ordered the admission of Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter, two black students, to the University of Georgia, therefore integrating the school. The funds to the school were cut off because of this. But then an angry mob formed outside Hunter's dormitory and caused damage. State officials stopped the rioters, and the law was repealed. Info: http://tw0.us/Wb Pic: http://tw0.us/Wc -
Freedom Rides
CORE attempted to protest segregated transportation and to desegregate public transportation in the south by taking public buses with seven black and six white students in them to the south. Freedom Rides were an attempt to test the Supreme Court’s ruling. The results were mixed because there was no immediate desegregation, but a committee was formed to study the concerns of African-Americans in Albany, and eventually made a rule against desegregation in transportation. BOTH: http://tw0.us/Tj -
Albany Movement
The Albany Movement occurred at a bus station in Albany, Georgia, and it was the first mass civil rights movement to attempt to desegregate an entire community. More than 1000 African Americans who were protesting were jailed because of it. It was led by Dr. William Anderson. The 1955 Supreme Ct. decision made segregation in interstate bus and train stations illegal. They wanted to test the rule by sitting in a “whites-only” section of Albany, which was the bus station in Georgia. Continued... -
Albany Movement, continued
In November of 1961, they did it, but the police officer was prepared. Because he was prepared, there was enough room in jails for the protesters, so they ran out. In addition, they made it so that it did not get too much publicity. There was not an immediate desegregation of bus terminals, but a committee was formed to study the problems of African Americans in Albany. Both Picture and Information: http://tw0.us/Uy -
Birmingham, Alabama protests
This happened in Birmingham, Alabama, nicknamed "Bombingham." Protesters marched from Sixteenth Street Baptist Church to city hall and were arrested. They were protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham. Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, Martin Luther King Jr., and the SCLC were involved. Then, on May 2, children gathered in Kelly Ingram Park, and sang "We Shall Overcome." So many people were arrested that they had to stuff them into vans. Info: http://tw0.us/YE Pic: http://tw0.us/YF -
March on Washington D.C.
On August 28, a quarter of a million people marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. They were protesting for civil rights and jobs, and they were protesting against discrimination. It turned out to be quite peaceful and effective. Martin Luther King, Jr. said his speech here. -
16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham bombed
On September 15, 1963, the Street Baptist Church in Birmingham was bombed. It was bombed to show that they wanted to stop the integration of Alabama. The governor was against integration. Robert Chambliss, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, was the man who put the bomb under the steps, and he was arrested. Four innocent black girls, shown in the picture, died. BOTH: http://tw0.us/V1 -
John F. Kennedy Assassinated
John F. Kennedy was fatally shot on on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas while riding with his wife. He was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. However, there may have been a plot or cover-up. Information: http://tw0.us/Wd PIcture:http://tw0.us/WM -
Civil Rights Act 1964 passed
John F. Kennedy introduced the idea of the Civil Rights Act; however, it was not passed while he was alive. It made forms of discrimination to women and blacks illegal. It ended the unfair voting rules, it desegregated schools, it desegregated the workplace, and it desegregated the general public. It was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Info: http://tw0.us/V3 Pic: http://tw0.us/ZC -
Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed
This was made to help blacks get voting rights because there had been many efforts to stop them from doing so. The Act let the federal government to oversee voter registration and elections held in counties that had used tests to determine whetheror not you could vote. It also made discriminatory literacy tests illegal and expanded voting rights. It was signed by Lyndon B. Johnson. Both Info and Pic: http://tw0.us/Vv -
Summerhill Race Riot
This was a four-day race riot that happened in a neighborhood called Summerhill in Atlanta. It happened when a black man who was suspected to be a car thief was shot while escaping from a white cop. Stokley Carmichael was the leader of the SNCC, and he was arrested for starting the riot. 138 people were arrested, and 35 were injured. Info: http://tw0.us/ZR Pic: http://tw0.us/Yr -
MLK assassinated
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennesee. The country, including Atlanta, was devastated and had many riots with violence and controversy. In Atlanta, a funeral was hosted, and many people came from all over to mourn. The riot in Chicago was the worst. Jams Earl Ray was blamed for shooting King. Info: http://tw0.us/ZT Pic: http://tw0.us/YH -
All Schools in Georgia Integrated
The integration of Georgia schools started with Brown vs. Board of Education. There were many cases like this, the integration of UGA, and the Civil Rights Bill that eventually made Georgia integrate their schools. Georgia was highly against integration, so it was met with hatred and violence at first, but we eventually accepted it because we are integrated now. Info: http://tw0.us/ZU Pic: http://tw0.us/ZY
