Civil Rights Garden

1. Civil Rights Garden

2. Herman Talmadge • Governor 1948-1951 • U.S. Senate 1956-1980; championed laws that aided rural regions • Resisted desegregation of public schools – increased funding for education hoping to make black and white schools more equal Why? • Started first sales tax in Georgia • Three Governor’s Controversy • Opposed Brown vs BOE ruling

3. Benjamin Mays • Distinguished African American minister, educator, scholar, social activist, and writer • President of Morehouse College • Proponent for civil rights • Two ideas: • Believed everyone should be treated with dignity • Believed segregation or races was not consistent with America’s democratic ideals • Teachings greatly influenced MLK, Jr, a student of Mays

4. Martin Luther King, Jr. • Principal leader in Civil Rights Movement • Time at Morehouse College shaped his political beliefs • Minister and great speaker • Led the Montgomery Bus Boycott – ended segregation of Montgomery’s buses • Believed problem facing African Americans was result of economic inequalities

5. Hamilton Holmes • One of first black students to attend UGA (Charlayne Hunter) • 1961 court order integrated UGA • Met with crowds shouting racial slurs • Suspended after riot broke out outside his dorm – cited safety issues • Court order reinstated him (and Turner) • Became an orthopedic surgeon • Died at his home in 1995.

6. Charlayne Hunter • Along with Holmes, the first blacks to attend UGA • 1961 court order integrated UGA • Rocks and bottles thrown at windows in her dormitory protesting her admission • Became nationally known newspaper and television reporter

7. Maynard Jackson • Elected mayor of Atlanta – 1974-1982/1990 • First African American mayor of a major southern city • Helped bring 1996 Olympics to Atlanta • Created “neighborhood planning units” to give citizens a voice in city government • Expanded Hartsfield International Airport – renamed in his honor • Died in 2003 of a heart attack- 5,000 people came and mourned his death

8. Lester Maddox • Governor 1967 – 1971 • Believed in states’ rights and segregation • Defied Civil Rights Act by refusing to serve black customers in his restaurant (1964) – closed it instead of complying • While governor: put more blacks into government jobs than all governors before him combined, supported prison reform, increased spending for universities, established “People’s Day” • After King’s death, increased police presence and refused to order flags be flown at half-mast • Ran for president in 1976 • Died after a long battle with cancer in 2003

9. Andrew Young • Aide to Dr. King • Worked closely with Dr. King in SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) • 1972 – elected to U.S. Congress (first black elected to Congress since Reconstruction) • 1977 – named ambassador to the UN • Elected mayor of Atlanta in 1981 and 1985 • Worked hard to bring Olympics to Atlanta

10. Brown vs Board of Education(Oliver Brown and 12 other families) • Topeka, Kansas • NAACP helped Brown family • 1954 Supreme Court ruling that separate was not equal and segregation in schools was unconstitutional • 1956 – Georgia legislature rebelled against ruling – Georgia schools slow to comply with ruling

11. 1956 State Flag • Legislators response to Brown vs Board of Education • New flag included Stars and Bars • Some believed this was Georgia’s way of holding on to traditions • John Sammons Bell led the campaign to change the flag

12. Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC – Snick) • 1960 – college students who adopted King’s strategy of peaceful protest • Began with sit-ins at lunch counters in the South • Expanded efforts to end segregation in all places and promote black voter registration • Helped plan March on Washington

13. Albany Movement • Fall 1961 – Summer 1962 • End all types of segregation in the city from buses to libraries and juries • Involved several civil rights organizations including NAACP and SNCC • Tactics included sit-ins mass demonstrations, and boycotts • Hundreds arrested • Desegregation efforts failed; tried to do too much

14. March on Washington • August 1963 • 250,000 plus people demanding civil rights for African Americans • Sent a clear message for Congress to vote “yes” on civil rights legislation • Peaceful methods made an impact on America – you gain sympathy rather than anger opponents

15. Sibley Commission • Georgia schools refused to cooperate with 1954 decision • No funding for schools that integrated • 1960 (John Sibley) • Georgia had to decide whether to integrate or close schools • – recommended that each local district decide the desegregation matter for itself • -recommended state repeal laws penalizing integrated schools

16. Civil Rights Act • Passed 1964 • Prohibited discrimination based on color, race, or religion in public places • Prohibited segregation in public places • Encouraged desegregation of public schools • Made it illegal to discriminate in employment • Prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender