1. 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.

2. Herman Talmadge
Re-elected governor in 1950
Expanded schools to include grades 1-12
Lengthened school year to 9 months
Raised standards for buildings, equipment, transportation and school curricula
3 percent tax passed to pay for changes

3. Benjamin Mays
Educator and president of Morehouse College
Mentor to MLK, Jr.
Chairman of the Atlanta Board of Education
Has a street and a high school named in his honor in southwest Atlanta

4. 1946 Governor’s Race
(The Three Governors Episode)
Eugene Talmadge was elected but died before taking
office
Three men claimed the office: Ellis Arnall (current
governor), Herman Talmadge (Eugene’s son who was
chosen by the legislature based on write-in votes in the
election) and Melvin Thompson (Lt. Governor)
In March, the Georgia Supreme court ruled that Melvin
Thompson was the rightful head of the state until a
special election could be held in 1948
Herman Talmadge won that election

5. 1956 State Flag
Many were offended by the Confederate battle emblem on the flag because of
its references to slavery
Others felt it was a memorial to the war dead
The flag was hurting business and tourism in the state
Gov. Roy Barnes changed the flag
Sonny Perdue promised to change the flag if elected

6. End of the White Primary
The state allowed only white Democrats to vote in
the primary elections (those in which candidates
from each party are chosen)
This kept blacks from choosing their own
candidates – they were only allowed to vote in the
general election in which there really wasn’t a
choice
In 1946, the U. S. Supreme Court, Georgia’s white
primary system unconstitution (King V. Chapman)

7. 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
Sibley Commission: found that most Georgians
would rather close schools than integrate
More private schools opened
1961: Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes first
African American students at UGA
1971: All Georgia public schools integrated

8. Montgomery Bus Boycott
Dec. 1, 1955: Rosa Parks, 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

9. A Nonviolent Movement is
Born
Martin Luther King, Jr. of Atlanta
Developed a nonviolent approach to social change
Four-prong approach:
• direct, nonviolent actions
• legal remedies
• ballots
• economic boycotts
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

10. The Albany Movement
1961: Albany, GA becomes center of civil rights activity
SNCC: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee – challenged segregated bus
system in Albany
Nearly 500 people jailed
Biracial committee formed to study concerns of African Americans

11. Protests Move to Alabama
1963: Martin Luther King, Jr. begins work to integrate all aspects of public life in
Birmingham, AL
Over 3000 people arrested
Bomb killed 4 black children in their church
African Americans and whites from the north and south began to join together to stop
the violence

12. The Civil Rights Act
President Kennedy created new civil rights laws
Kennedy was assassinated before the new laws came into effect
Lyndon Johnson became president and pushed for passage of the Civil Rights Act of
1964
All public facilities had to be integrated
Discrimination was prohibited in business and labor unions

13. The Voting Rights Act
1964: Freedom Summer – Martin Luther King, Jr. and SNCC worked to get African
Americans registered to vote
Selma-to-Montgomery, AL march led by Dr. King
Nearly 30,000 marchers
Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – one million African Americans were
registered to vote

14. A Shift in Mood
Some people moved from the nonviolent strategies to more aggressive ones
SNCC and “Black Panthers” confronted police
Malcolm X preached black separatism
Race riots in Los Angeles, Detroit, and Newark
April 1968: Dr. King assassinated in Memphis, TN while working with striking sanitation
workers

15. Atlanta: A Case Study in
Change
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”
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16. Lester Maddox
Elected governor 1967
Segregationist who surprised everyone by appointing more blacks to state
boards and commissions than all prior governors combined