Modern Georgia, Civil Rights, and Segregation Timeline

  • 1946 Governor's Race/End of White Primary

    1946 Governor's Race/End of White Primary
    The Race was between Eugene Talmadge, Ellis Arnall, and Herman Talmadge. Eugene Talmadge was sick and couldn't possibly run for governor. The state thought that after people had voted for Eugene, they could write his son's name inplace of his. Melvin Thompson, the Lieutenant Governor at the time, said that there should be another election and the state agreed. They had a special election and Herman Talmadge won. Eugene Talmadge agreed whil White Supremacy but Herman didn't.
  • Benjamin Mays

    Benjamin Mays
    Benjamin Mays was a black educator, minister, scholar, social activist, and the president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. He accomplished many things in his life. He worked along side Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement. He spent most of his days working to improve the college education of African Americans.
  • Herman Talmadge

    Herman Talmadge
    Herman Talmadge became the governor of Georgia on November 17, 1948. He is the son of Eugene Talmadge, a former governor of Georgia. He served as governor until 1954. In 1956, Herman was elected to the U.S. Senate. He supported the Civil Rights Movement, unlike his father, and started appealing to black voters. He was fired from the U.S. Senate in 1979 due to financial misconduct.
  • Brown vs. Board of Education

    Brown vs. Board of Education
    Brown vs. Board of Education was a court case that desegregated schools in the United States. Oliver Brown's child was denied educaton by a white public school in Topeka, Kansas. Segregating schooles was violating the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constittion. At first, Brown's claim was denied because the federal district court thought that the local segregated schools were "equal." Brown's claim caught the attention of the Supreme Court. Eventually, schools desegregated.
  • 1956 Georgia State Flag

    1956 Georgia State Flag
    The 1965 state flag of Georgia caused quite a controversy. They featured part of the Confederate Flag. It was a bad thing becasue the Confederate flag was related to the Confederate States which supported segregation and slavery..
  • Martin Luther King Jr.

    Martin Luther King Jr.
    Martin Luther King Jr. was a very inspirational figure during the Civil Rights movement. He went to Morehouse College, the same college that Benjamin Mays worked at. By 1954, he was already an active member of the NAACP. His most famous speech, "I Have a Dream" was his most influential. He gave the speech to over 250,000 people in Washington, D.C. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Even thought he's passed, he is still an influence to people today.
  • SNCC

    SNCC
    The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was a major organization during the Civil Rights Movement. Atlanta held the headquarters of the SNCC. They held meetings at lunch counters of department stores and arrested several people. Some important members of the SNCC were Julian Bond, John Lewis, and H. Rap Brown.
  • Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter Admission to UGA

    Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter Admission to UGA
    Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter were admitted to the University of Georgia on January 9, 1961. At first when they were admitted, they weren't accepted. Over 100 students protested them being accepted.
  • Sibley Commission

    Sibley Commission
    Governor Ernest Vandiver Jr. was forced to choose between desegregating schools or closing them. He then created the General Assemble Committee on Schools or the "Sibley Committee." Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter were the first black students to be admitted to the University of Georgia. On January 31, 1961 the bll passed officially desegregating the Atlanta school system.
  • Albany Movement

    Albany Movement
    The Albany Movement was the first mass movement of the Civil Rights Movement. Its goal was to desegregate entire communities. The Albany Movement started becasue of the SNCC and 3 of it's members: Charles Sherrod, Cordell Reagon, and Charles Jones. The SNCC encouraged young black students to challenge the segregated school system to make it equal for all.The Albany Movement made a positive impact on the Civil Rights Movement and helped speed up the process of desegregating the school systems.
  • March on Washington

    March on Washington
    The March on Washington was a polticial rally in favor of the Civil Rights Movement. This march was created to call attention to social and political obstacles that African Americans faced. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech was givien on the same day as the march.
  • Civil Rights Act

    Civil Rights Act
    The Civil Rights Act was the final law passed that ended discrimination and segregation in the United Stated. It also brought euality between whites and blacks. This was a major milestone for blacks because for years they were never treated equally and now they finally were.
  • Maynard Jackson as Mayor of Atlanta

    Maynard Jackson as Mayor of Atlanta
    Maynard Jackson was the first African American mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. He served three terms from 1974-1982 and 1990-1994. One of hs major accomplishments was expanding the Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. The airport was later named the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, named after Maynard Jackson and William Hartsfield.