Georgia Studies Civil Rights Movement

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Georgia Performance Standard SS8H11 The student will evaluate the role of Georgia in the modern civil rights movement. a. Describe major developments in civil rights and Georgia’s role during the 1940s and 1950s; include the roles of Herman Talmadge, Benjamin Mays, the 1946 governor’s race and the end of the white primary, Brown v. Board of Education, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the 1956 state flag. b. Analyze the role Georgia and prominent Georgians played in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s; include such events as the founding of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Sibley Commission, admission of Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to the University of Georgia, Albany Movement, March on Washington, Civil Rights Act, the election of Maynard Jackson as mayor of Atlanta, and the role of Lester Maddox. c. Discuss the impact of Andrew Young on Georgia.

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Benjamin Mays Born to parents who were former slaves. Was appointed to the presidency of Morehouse College. While he held this position, he did much to improve and strengthen the school. Served as the Atlanta school board’s first African American president. Was Martin Luther King Jr.’s mentor at Morehouse College. After retiring from Morehouse College, he became chairman of the Board of Education.

End of the White Primary White Primary – used after the Civil War to keep African Americans from voting. 1900 Democratic Primary – Democratic leaders decided that only white Democrats could vote in the primary election. Georgia was mostly a one-party state (Republican and Independent candidates got little support from white citizens). As a result, white, Democratic candidates were often elected with little or no African American support. The Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed blacks the right to vote. End of the White Primary – King v. Chapman Supreme Court case made the white primary systems in GA unconstitutional (illegal).

The 1946 Governor’s Race Governor Ellis Arnall’s term of office was due to end in 1946. Eugene Talmadge was elected to his 4th Term as Georgia’s Governor but died before taking the Oath of Office. Began the “Three Governor’s” Controversy: Herman Talmadge (Eugene’s son) was chosen as governor by the legislature due to the amount of write-in votes he had received and were “found” after the election. Current Governor Arnall declared that Lieutenant Governor Melvin Thompson was the new Governor as he was the rightful successor. January 15, 1947, Herman Talmadge’s men broke into the governor’s office and changed the locks and readied themselves to run the state. Governor Arnall set up a temporary office at the Capitol Information counter; Arnall officially resigned three days later. Finally in March 1947, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Thompson was the governor until a special election could be held in 1948. At this election, Herman Talmadge was elected governor.

Early Civil Rights in Georgia Herman Talmadge: Served as governor of Georgia briefly in 1947 and again from 1948-1955. Later served in the U.S. Senate. Segregationist – worked to keep African American and white citizens separate. As a politician, Talmadge worked to help Georgia’s farmers and tried to stop Civil Rights. 1956 State Flag – In 1956, Georgia’s state flag was changed to prominently display the Confederate Battle Flag; changed in 2001 as citizens found the flag offensive.

1956-2001 2001-2003 2003-present

The Supreme Court and Education 1948: racial integration ordered in armed forces. 1950: Brown v. Board of Education – case struck down “separate but equal” concept; schools were to be integrated. 1961: Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes were the first African American students at UGA. 1971: All Georgia public schools integrated.

http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/ushistory/brownv sboardofeducationoftopeka/

Sibley Commission In Georgia, most of the state’s school systems refused desegregation. The Sibley Commission held hearings all over the state to learn how the public felt about integration. Most Georgians said they would rather close the schools than integrate them. The commission recommended that local school systems be allowed to decide if they would follow a court order to integrate public schools or if they would close them. Many private schools opened.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta. Dr. King attended several colleges and universities, including the Morehouse College. He became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL. During his studies, he became interested in Gandhi's nonviolent approach to bringing about social change. Four Approaches to Nonviolent Change: direct, nonviolent actions legal remedies ballots economic boycotts Most well-known for his “I Have a Dream Speech.” SCLC: Southern Christian Leadership Conference – civil rights group led by Dr. King. Sit-in: Dr. King’s strategy to people refuse to leave a public building until their demands are met. King earned numerous awards and recognitions for his civil rights work. Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.” “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

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Montgomery Bus Boycott Dec. 1, 1955: Rosa Parks, an African American, refused to give up her bus seat to whites in Montgomery, AL. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the NAACP organized civic leaders and prepared marches. Supreme court ruled segregation on public transportation unconstitutional.

The Albany Movement 1961: Albany, GA became center of civil rights activity. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): Challenged segregated bus system in Albany. Led sit-ins Nearly 500 people jailed. Biracial committee formed to study concerns of African Americans.

March on Washington President John F. Kennedy sent the strongest civil rights bill in history to Congress in 1963. Congress took its time with the bill. As a result, over 250,000 people representing all races, gathered before the Washington Monument to demonstrate for its passage. As they stood together, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made one of the most famous speeches of all time.

Video http://www.history.com/topics/march-on- washington/videos

The Civil Rights Act In 1963, President John F. Kennedy described segregation as a moral crisis for the country. He told of his plans to ask Congress to pass a new civil rights law. Kennedy was assassinated before the civil rights laws came into effect. Lyndon Johnson became president and pushed for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964: The most far reaching and important civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. All public facilities had to be integrated. Discrimination was prohibited in business and labor unions.

Lester Maddox Some people moved from the nonviolent strategies to more aggressive ones. Lester Maddox: Became governor of Georgia in 1967. Had forcibly turned away black activists who challenged segregation at the restaurant he had owned. Very popular with Georgians who supported segregation. He later surprised many Georgians by appointing more African Americans to state boards and commissions than any other governor. April 1968: Dr. King assassinated in Memphis, TN while working with striking sanitation workers.

The Pickrick - The restaurant owned by Lester Maddox; rather than agree with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and serve African-American customers, Maddox chose to close the Pickrick

Changing Atlanta (Review) Integration in Atlanta was relatively peaceful Church leaders get much credit for this peaceful change William Hartsfield: Atlanta mayor who expanded Atlanta’s airport and worked with African American and white leaders; worked to integrate Atlanta’s schools Ivan Allen: Atlanta mayor ordered removal of “white” and “colored” segregation signs in the City Hall; integrated police and fire services and city government Troubled times followed but were overcome The city became known as “the city too busy to hate.”

African Americans Take Office Maynard Jackson: Elected mayor of Atlanta in 1973 (1st African American mayor of a major southern city). Led the development and expansion of MARTA. Expanded Hartsfield International Airport. Led efforts to bring the 1996 Olympic Games. Airport renamed Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in 2003. Andrew Young: An aide to Martin Luther King, Jr. and executive director of the SCLC. In 1972, won election to the U.S. House of Representatives (1st African American from Georgia to be elected to Congress since the 1860s). President Jimmy Carter named Young as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Helped bring the 1996 Olympic Games to Atlanta.

Maynard Jackson Andrew Young

Shirley Franklin - Franklin became the first female mayor of Atlanta, and the first African-American woman to be elected mayor of ANY major southern city; she held the post of Mayor of Atlanta until 2010.