Civil Rights in Georgia
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Transcript of Civil Rights in Georgia
Civil Rights in Georgia
AKS 42: Students will evaluate the role of Georgia in the modern civil
rights movement
Herman Talmadge
Son of Eugene TalmadgeGovernor from 1948-55 Improved GA’s education
systemSegregationalist!!!1951 created 3% sales tax to
pay for 9 month school year, buildings, and transportation
Improved state prisonsU.S. Senator 1956-1981
Benjamin Mays President of Morehouse College (Atlanta) African American minister, educator, scholar,
and social activist Mentor to civil rights leader MLK, Jr. Leader in the NAACP, YMCA, the World Council
of Churches, and the United Negro College Fund
Atlanta City Board of Education Wanted nonviolence to bring change Acted as mediator between white leaders and
young black men
1946 Governor’s Race
James Carmichael won the popular vote, but Eugene Talmadge was elected by the County Unit System
Eugene Talmadge died before being sworn in The legislature appointed Herman Talmadge governor Governor Arnall would not leave office The GA Supreme Court said Melvin Thompson (Lt. Gov.
elect) should be governor until a special election in 1948 Herman Talmadge won in 1948 and again in 1950
End of the White Primary 1900 the GA Democratic Party decided that only white
voters could vote in the primary election 1944 US Supreme Court ruled all-white primaries were
illegal and violated the 15th amendment Gov. Arnall supported the court’s decision and said black
voters should be allowed to vote in primaries While running for governor, Eugene Talmadge promised
to bring back the all-white primary and protect the Jim Crow laws. Talmadge won the election.
Brown v Board of Education1954 In 1950 Linda Brown was
denied admission to a white school in Topeka, Kansas.
NAACP attorneys took this case to the Supreme Court
1954 the Supreme Court decided segregated schools were unequal and unfair and unconstitutional.
This meant African American students could now attend white schools.
Brown v. Board overturned Plessy v. Ferguson.
Georgia State Flag1956
1956 -2001
GA’s General Assembly adopted this state flag with the Confederate battle emblem
Legislators said it was for 100-year anniversary of the Civil War
Honor Confederate Veterans Protest Brown v Board of
Education Changed flag in 2001 to project a
more modern image to the world-conventions were cancelled/boycotts scheduled against states with Confederate battle symbols in state flags
Martin Luther King Jr.Civil rights activist that promoted
nonviolence and direct action as methods of social change
helped lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955
founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference 1957
led the March on Washington for jobs and freedom in August 1963 (250,000 people)
Martin Luther King Jr.
The Civil Rights Act 1964March from Selma to
Montgomery helped get Voting Rights Act 1965
Time’s Man of Year 1963Received the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1964He was assassinated at the
Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN in 1968
Montgomery Bus BoycottDecember 1, 1955 – Dec 20, 1956
Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man.
A boycott was organized with blacks refusing to ride the city buses.
The boycott resulted in a crippling financial deficit for the Montgomery public transit system.
A federal ruling took effect, and led to a US Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional.
Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
SNCC (1960) was created to help blacks register to vote
Began at Shaw Univ. in Raleigh, N.C.Active in Albany and Atlanta John Lewis was first President
Albany Movement 1961
NAACP and SCLC staged a “sit in” at the white section of the Albany bus station (testing the law)
SNCC and other Civil Rights activists, like MLK, Jr. came to Albany to support the movement
Most of the demonstrators were jailed Freedom Riders came from the north to help
integrate facilities and register voters MLK and Ralph Abernathy were arrested A biracial committee was established to study
concerns of blacks in Albany
Sibley Commission1960
The GA General Assembly chose John Sibley to chair a committee to see how people felt about integration
This committee recommended that each local school board set up their own policies to comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965
They recommended that schools should stay open-even if they have to integrate
Integration of University of GeorgiaJanuary 1961
Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes- the first colored students to attend the University of Georgia
Judge ordered their admission Protests and riots by white students who were opposed to the
university's desegregation resulted in a temporary suspension for Hunter and Holmes
Gov. Vandiver asked legislators to repeal the school closing law They returned to campus after a series of court orders and began
their studies
March on Washington“I have a dream…” SpeechAugust 28,1963
The march was for Jobs and Freedom
Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous speech, “I have a dream…” from the Lincoln Memorial
Approximately 250,000 people participated in the march for “Human Rights”
Civil Rights Act 1964 To enforce the constitutional right to vote, for courts to enforce
laws against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize… suits to protect rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights…
Signed into law by President Johnson It made discrimination in public
places, like schools, restaurants, and theaters illegal
It required employers to provide equal employment opportunities
Withheld federal funds from school systems that did not integrate
Could not use different voting rules for blacks and whites
Voting Rights ActAugust 6, 1965
Outlawed discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests that disenfranchised African American voters
Enforced the 15th amendment Established federal oversight of elections Signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson (sent
federal workers to south to register blacks) In Ga. in 1960-29% of blacks registered to vote
1971-64%
Lester Maddox
Believed in states’ rights and segregation
Governor 1967 Forced segregation was wrong-forced integration was also wrong
Integrated the State Patrol Named an African American to
the Board of Pardons and Parole Appointed more African
Americans to state boards than all prior governors combined
Maynard Jackson1938 - 2003
First African American Mayor of Atlanta in 1973. (Served 3 terms in all)
Youngest mayor in U.S. (35 years old)
Reduced Program for the Arts Addressed the issue of police
brutality City government reduced in size Crime rates lowered MARTA started (busses and trains) Airport expanded Olympics came to Atlanta while he
was mayor (1996) Died in 2003 His name added to name of airport
(Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport)
Andrew Young In the civil rights movement (in Albany, Birmingham, Selma)
He was with MLK Jr. when he was assassinated in Memphis
Andrew Young was Georgia’s first black U.S. Congressman since Reconstruction (1973-1977)
Mayor of Atlanta from 1981-1988 Co-chairman of the committee
that brought the Olympic Games to Atlanta
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations (under Pres. Carter)
John Lewis Active in the Civil Rights Movement
throughout the south. (Selma, Birmingham, Montgomery, Albany)
Was beaten and arrested numerous times.
Chairman of the SNCC and participated in the Freedom Rides to challenge segregation of interstate bus stations.
Represented the Fifth Congressional District of Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1987.
John Lewis – Bloody Sunday -
On March 8, 1965 600 protesters tried to march from Selma to Montgomery AL.
Registering blacks to vote They were attacked by police Many were arrested Next time President Johnson
sent troops to protect the marchers