The Civil Rights Movement

1. The Civil Rights Movement January 8, 2014

2. The Beginnings… • While we think of the modern civil rights movement as taking place during the 1960s, in reality, it started much ________ • In Georgia, and other places in the United States, African-Americans had been making strides towards equality since right after ______________

3. Benjamin Mays • Dr. Benjamin Mays was born in 1895 to parents who were former slaves • He became a _________, working in South Carolina and Georgia • He taught at Morehouse College, becoming president of the college in 1940 • He served as the ______________________ first African-American president • He became an ___________ to Martin Luther King, Jr. during King’s freshman year at Morehouse • He retired in 1981 • A street and a high school in Atlanta are named after him

4. The End of the White Primary • __________ elections determine who is ____________ to be on the ballot for the __________ election • Although the ________________ gave African-American men the right to vote, legislators in Georgia twisted it to mean only in the __________ election • So, only _________ voted in the primaries, guaranteeing that their candidates would be nominated • In _______, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that white primaries were _________________ and from then on, African-American voters could take part in all elections

5. 1946 Governor’s Race • Democrats Eugene Talmadge, Eurith Rivers, and James Carmichael were running • _____________ became the party candidate due to the __________________ • He ran unopposed, and was __________, but was in very poor _________ • His advisors didn’t think he would live long enough to finish his term, so they came up with a _______ • They had a few hundred supporters ___________ Talmadge’s son __________ on the ballot as their second choice

6. Government in Chaos • Before being sworn in, Eugene Talmadge ______ • The _____________ chose Herman Talmadge as governor based on the number of __________ votes he had received • Technically, the ____________________, Melvin Thompson should have taken Eugene Talmadge’s place • However, a group of Talmadge’s supporters broke in to the governor’s office, changed the locks, and prepared to run the state

7. Finally…a governor! • ____________, the outgoing governor, was locked out of his own office, so he set up a new one and officially resigned the governorship 3 days later • Lieutenant Governor _____________ also set up an office and began proceedings to become governor • Since _________ was officially governor, there was no one running the ________ • Finally in March, the state Supreme Court ruled that ____________ was the rightful governor until a special election could be held in 1948 • In that election, ___________________ was legally elected governor of the state

8. Herman Talmadge • Talmadge, who was re-elected in 1950, was a strict _______________ and __________ to integrate Georgia’s schools • He tried to bring back the _______________, but failed • He did improve ____________, even while keeping it segregated • He expanded schools to include grades ______ and lengthened the school year to 9 months • He raised ____________ for school buildings, transportation, and curriculum

9. Integration of schools… • In 1950, a black student, Linda Brown tried to enroll at a white school in ________ • She was denied, so her dad sued the school board • The case, _____________________________, reached the U.S. Supreme Court • In ______, the court ruled that “separate-but-equal” schools were ___________________ • It ordered integration of schools • This ruling overturned the ____________________ ruling that had allowed “separate-but-equal”

10. Sibley Commission • In Georgia, most schools __________ to integrate • In 1955, the Georgia legislature voted to cut off _________ to any system that integrated • A commission, headed by John Sibley, was appointed to ________ the problem • They found that most Georgians would rather ________ the schools than ____________ them • The commission recommended that school systems be allowed to ________ on their own what they should do

11. Integration of Colleges • On January 6, 1961, the ____________________, backed by the Governor Vandiver, allowed its first two black students, ______________________________, into the school • _________ later graduated with honors and went on to become an orthopedic __________ • __________ would become a nationally known newspaper and public television ___________ • Governor Vandiver would go on to ask the legislature to _________ segregation laws in Georgia, paving the way for _____________ integration than in other states

12. The 1956 Georgia state flag • In _______, the state flag was changed to incorporate the _______________ battle emblem • African-Americans were offended as they felt this referenced __________ in the state’s past • Georgia lost millions as the reference to “old-fashioned southern” traditions damaged the _________ industry • It wasn’t changed until ____, then again in ______

13. Martin Luther King, Jr. • MLK, Jr. was born in _________ in 1929 • He attended ____________________ and obtained a Ph.D. • He believed in a 4-pronged approach to gaining civil rights: direct, ____________ action; _______ remedies; _________; ____________________ • He helped organize huge protests in Birmingham, AL that led to the writing of the ______________ laws by President John F. Kennedy • He also spoke at the 1963 ______________________ • He was _________________ in Memphis, TN in 1968

14. Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee • Following Dr. King’s lead in _________________, a new era of protest was started by black college students with a _________ at a lunch counter in North Carolina in 1960 • A sit-in occurs when people enter a public building and _________ to leave until they are served or their demands are met • Even though they were refused service, the idea __________ around the South • Later that year, the ________ (pronounced “snick”) was created • Their first president was Georgian John Lewis • They helped register African-Americans to ______, led ___________, organized _________, and _______________ businesses that wouldn’t serve African-Americans

15. Albany Movement • Following the example of SNCC, a sit-in was organized in Albany, GA in the “whites-only” waiting room at the _____________ • The protestors were ___________, which led the African-American community to form the ___________________ • More protestors arrived, and were arrested, including high school students • ____________, who had traveled to Albany, was arrested for protesting • All of this led to a biracial committee being formed to study the concerns of African-Americans in Albany

16. March on Washington - 1963 • President Kennedy sent the strongest ____________ bill in history to Congress in June 1963 • Congress took their time with it, leading to over 250,000 people representing all races and nationalities to gather at the ___________________________ to demonstrate for its passage • __________ gave the most famous speech of his career, the ______________________ speech here on August 28, 1963

17. The 1964 Civil Rights Act • The bravery of civil rights demonstrators and the March on Washington caught the nation by storm • Even though President Kennedy was assassinated in Nov. 1963, the new president, Lyndon Johnson, continued to urge Congress to _______ the civil rights laws • It was eventually passed into law, and became the most ________________ civil rights legislation in American history • It made segregation of public places __________ • It ______________ discrimination in businesses • It withheld _________ from public school systems that refused to ____________

18. Changes in Georgia’s government • In the 1960s, two rulings by the federal court brought dramatic ________ to the political structure in Georgia • The end of the ______________ system • ____________________ • The 1970s saw the election of ___________________ as Atlanta’s mayor and to the U.S. House of Representatives

19. The End of the County Unit System • This system had been in place since 1917 to give power to Georgia’s ______ areas • In 1962, the Georgia federal court ruled the county unit system violated the ________________ • This caused a ______ in political power to the _______ areas, and gave predominantly black populations an _______ opportunity to elect representatives • As a result, Leroy Johnson was elected in 1962 as the first African-American state senator since Reconstruction

20. Reapportionment • When the county unit system decision was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, they handed down the ___________________ decision • This is the concept that every citizen’s vote should be _______ to every other citizen’s vote no matter where they ______ • In 1964, the federal court ruled that Georgia ___________ the one-person, one-vote concept by distributing _____ legislative seat to each _________ • The court said that legislative seats should be based on ____________ rather than county boundary lines • Georgia had to ______________ (redraw) its voting districts so they were of _________ population size • This also shifted ____________ power to _________ areas

21. Lester Maddox • ________________ was elected governor in 1967 • Although Maddox was a famous _________________, he surprised Georgians by appointing more _____________________ to state boards and commissions • He integrated the ______________________ • He also reformed state _________ and increased spending on teacher salaries and higher education

22. Maynard Jackson • Jackson became Atlanta’s ______ African-American _________ in ______ • He helped the city progress by _______________ the police and fire departments, as well as city government • He led the development of ________ and expanded the _________ into one of the busiest in the world • He helped lead the efforts to bring the 1996 ___________ to Atlanta • When he died in ______, the airport was renamed Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in his honor

23. Andrew Young • Young, who is from Thomasville, GA, was a trusted aide to Dr. King and was in Memphis when he was assassinated • He was elected to the _________________________ in 1972 • He was twice re-elected to the House • He was appointed as ____________________ to the United Nations in 1977 • He returned to Georgia in 1981, where he was elected ________ of Atlanta twice • He helped bring the 1996 __________ to Atlanta and is currently a professor at Georgia State University

24. Questions… • 1) How is Benjamin Mays connected to Dr. King? • 2) When did the white primary end? • 3) Who was elected governor in the 1946 election? • 4) Why did the legislature choose Herman Talmadge as governor after Eugene Talmadge’s death? • 5) Who was eventually appointed governor by the Supreme Court? • 6) What did Herman Talmadge refuse to do while Georgia’s governor? • 7) How did Talmadge improve education? • 8) What did the Brown v. Board of Education decision say? • 9) What ruling did Brown overturn? • 10) What did the Sibley Commission recommend? • 11) Who were the first African-Americans to integrate UGA? • 12) Why did the 1956 state flag offend many African-Americans?

25. More Questions… • 13) What famous civil rights leader was born in Atlanta in 1929? • 14) What was Dr. King’s approach to gaining civil rights? • 15) What did the SNCC do? • 16) What was the Albany Movement protesting? • 17) Why was the March on Washington organized? • 18) What famous speech was delivered at the March on Washington in 1963? • 19) What did the Civil Rights Act of 1964 do? • 20) What amendment did the county unit system violate? • 21) How did the end of the county unit system affect elections? • 22) What is the “one-person, one-vote” concept? • 23) How did Georgia have to reapportion its voting districts? • 24) How did Lester Maddox surprise Georgians? • 25) What political positions did Andrew Young hold? • 26) Who was Atlanta’s first African-American mayor? • 27) What were Jackson’s accomplishments as mayor?