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Benjamin Mays
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/education/benjamin-mays-ca-1894-1984Benjamin Mays' parents were tenant famers and slaves. Seeing them get beaten up gave Mays motivation to work hard. In 1940, Mays became the president of Morehouse College. He succeeded in accomplishing many goals, which went hand in hand with one another. After retiring, Mays remained active in social and political organizations of prominence and was in demand as a speaker.Benjamin Mays was an African American minister, educator, scholar, social activist, and president of Morehouse College. -
Lester Maddox
Segregationist and restaurant owner Lester Maddox became governor in 1967. But surprisingly, Maddox appointed more African Americans to state boards and commissions then all governors together. He increased spending on teacher salaries and higher education. In 1970, Maddox ran for lieutenant governor, elected devastatingly. -
Martin Luther King Jr
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htmMLK Jr is the most prominent African American leader in Georgia. Educated in Atlanta, he entered Morehouse College at age 15 in 1944. During his years of study, he developed an approach to social change by nonviolent actions, legal remedies, ballots, and boycotts. King's "I Have a Dream" speech was the most memorable event of the day and confirmed him as America's most prominent spokesperson. King was influential in ending segregation and changing America’s views on race and racial equality. -
Andrew Young
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/andrew-young-b-1932Andrew Young's lifelong work has been a politician, human rights activist, and businessman. Living in Georgia, he became active in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1961, he started working for the SCLC. Then, he was elected as Georgia’s first black Congressman since Reconstruction. Elected as mayor in 1981, he was influential in the city’s growth, national, and international prestige. After leaving office in 1989, Young continued to work for Georgia’s economic development as a specialist. -
Maynard Jackson
Maynard Jackson was the first African-American mayor of a major southern city. He ran for Senate against Herman Talmadge, but lost. However, he became vice-mayor of Atlanta, and four years later was elected mayor. There was a discussion in 2003 of Jackson running for the Senate but poor health caused him to withdraw. Jackson died later that year in Washington D.C. D.C. In his honor, Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport was renamed to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. -
Three Governors Controversy
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/three-governors-controversyAfter Eugene Talmadge's death in 1946, Georgia needed a new governer. It had to be either Melvin Thompson (lieutenant governor), Herman Talmadge (son of Eugene Talmadge), or Ellis Arnall (defeated governor). Republicans had a secret write in for Herman Talmadge. Each claimed to be governor and had their own office. Arnall resigned, supporting Thompson. To fill the unexpired term of Eugene Talmadge, there would be an election in 1948. As a result, Herman Talmadge became governor. -
Brown v. Board of Education
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2XHob_nVbwThe Supreme Court declared segregated schools to be illegal in 1954. The Georgia General Assembly was against this and declared the decision unacceptable void. After the decision, the Assembly threatened to stop funding and allowed the Governor to close desegregated schools. Referred to as Brown v. Board of Education, the court ordered racial integrations of schools “with all deliberate speed.” Finally, after 60 years of court-approved segregation, the Plessy V. Ferguson case was overturned. -
Georgia State Flag
After the Brown vs. Board, ruling many southern states urged their white citizens to display acts of massive resistance against the federal mandates outlawing segregation. One of the ways the Georgia General Assembly showed their disdain for these federal regulations was by changing the state flag. Some of the legislators favored the change to “mark the upcoming centennial of the Civil War.” However, many people believe the flag was changed to protest civil rights legislation. -
The Sibley Commission
Ernest Vandiver was elected governor in 1959 on his promise to keep Georgia’s schools segregated. However, in 1960, the GA General Assembly organized a 14 member commission to
study the problem of integration led by John Sibley. They held hearings all over the state to learn how the public felt about integration. Georgians said they’d rather close schools than integrate them. Despite those, Sibley pushed schools in Georgia to integrate on a limited basis. In this issue, private schools opened. -
The Albany Movement
Six years after Brown v. Board of Education, Albany schools were still segregated. Civil Bus rights leaders in other southern cities sought to challenge segregation laws. The Albany Movement was led by Dr. William Anderson. In the fall of 1961, members of SNCC and the local community began to protest the segregationist policies of the city. Drawing more attention, SNCC invited Martin Luther King Jr. to take part in the protest. By the summer of 1962, King viewed the Albany Movement as an unsucce -
Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to UGA
In 1961, UGA allowed its first two black students to be escorted: Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes. However, both were not accepted based on their race. Surprisingly, Vandiver instructed UGA to open the doors. Angering Georgians, Vandiver asked legislature to repeal other segregation laws; his actions were a main reason that efforts to integrate schools were calmer. By 1971, all Georgia’s public schools were integrated, making GA the first state to have a statewide integrated school system. -
March on Washington
March on WashingtonIn 1963, over 250,000 participants gathered in Washington D.C. to push for civil rights legislation. During the march, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his most famous speech “I Have a
Dream.” This march led to the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and The Voting Rights Act of 1965, which made King the most well-known speaker of the Civil Rights Movement. -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbade discrimination on the basis of sex and race in hiring, promoting, and firing. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited states from imposing any voting qualification on voting or deny the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color. Without John F. Kennedy’s plans to ask Congress to pass a new civil rights law and Martin Luther King’s marches, these acts would’ve never happened until many years later. -
Herman Talmadge
Herman Talmadge served as governor of Georgia in early 1947 and 1948. In 1956, he was elected to the first of four terms in the Senate. His governing years can be considered progressive in the context of Georgia politics. However, he was a loyal segregationist who stopped all attempts to add the public school system. Overall, Talmadge helped effect a great deal of progressive change in GA government and education. He was a national figure in the formation of legislation aimed at aiding America. -
SNCC
SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) was one of the major civil rights organizations of the 1960s. A national association formed in North Carolina worked with the Southern Leadership Conference and focused on orchestrating peaceful, non-violent protest. In Georgia, the group began its focus on the cities of Albany and Atlanta. The Albany Movement was helped later organize more successful protests while in Atlanta, the group organized successful sit-ins in the city in 1960. SNCC was v
