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Benjamin Mays was a hardworking man who believed in education to prevent social and economic oppression. He became the president of Morehouse College, a private, all-male and historically black college. In doing so, he set a great example for black men everywhere, and opened up a gateway into raising educational value.
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-King registered and tried to vote at Muscogee County Court House in Georgia, but he was thrown out.
-He was then put in a lawsuit dubbed 'King v Chapman et. al.', and was represented by lawyers and the NAACP.
-In the end, King won the case, This gave people a spark of hope towards more fair rulings in government affairs concerning civil rights related issues. -
The White Primary was invalidated in Georgia thanks to Primus E. King's case with the voting issue in Columbus. This led to more black people becoming active in political affairs and government overall, as they felt a little more comfortable to do so. As a large portion of the population of Georgia was and is black, this helped to diversify the voices in government.
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After the election of Georgia's new governor, the winner, Eugene Talmdage, passes away before his new term starts. His supporters decide that they had to make write-ins to get his son, Herman, into office. The governor at the time, Ellis Arnall, was still sworn in and refused to surrender to the write-ins that would elect Herman Talmadge. On top of that, a man named Melvin Thompson was supposed to take position as the governor. Their fighting is now known as the Three Governor's Controversy.
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Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of education lawsuit is one of the most famous cases concerning education in a government setting. -
In 1956, the state flag was changed to a blue bar with the state symbol in the middle and a square confederate flag. At the time it was thought of as a way to follow the upcoming commemoration of the Civil War, but later it was thought to be a way to show disapproval of desegragation of schools.
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The Sibley Commission (named so because it was led by John Sibley) was a special group that was set aside from the General Assembly specifically to solve the issue of desegregation. They gathered information on how the residents of Georgia felt about desegregating schools, and they were to tell their findings to the governor, Ernest Vandiver, Jr. In the end, the commission prevented violence that entailed something like desegration at the time in the Deep South.
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The SNCC was formed in order to allow students (college) to fight peacefully against the violent acts of racism and disctrimination. They organized peaceful protests such as sit-ins, like the one that they did in February of the year that they formed. The group was independent from all other groups, but it only lasted temporarily.
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"Freedom On Film"
(choose the option for Flash)
This video depicts the first two black students to attend the University of Georgia. Their attendance to the school was groundbreaking, as it broke the segregation that occured at UGA. -
Andrew Young, a native of Louisiana moved to Atlanta and found work as a pastor, but soon traded in that job to work in a civil rights organization, led by MLK, Jr., named the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). He helped organize workshops to teach people 'nonviolent organizing strategies'. He helped lead the south to success in alleviating social tension and organizing voter registration and desegregation campaigns. He and MLK Jr. were good friends until his assassination (MLK's).
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The Albany Movement was the catalyst of movements towards desegregation of whole communities. In rural counties many African Americans were jailed for participating in the movement, and it drew the attention of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In the end, the movement was seen as a failure yet aided in succes later in Birmingham.
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I Have A DreamMartin Luther king gave his famous 'I Have A Dream' speech at the March On Washington
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Civil Rights Act (primary source document)
The Civil Rights Act helped push discrimination out of government rulings and judgments, finally relieving the oppression of segregation in a setting where justice is the main goal. -
Lyndon B. Johnson's Announcement
In Selma, Alabama, a civil rights worker named Viola Gregg Liuzzo was murdered. This audio clip is the president of the time, Lyndon B. Johnson, announcing it to the country the very next day. -
Lester Maddox was thought to be a man who would make Georgia's case of segregation worse, but in reality he alleviated some of the effects. He hired and appointed many black people into the government, resolved issues that were popular with the black population, and overall supporting civil rights with his actions. He was remembered as one of the most liked governors (by both whites and blacks) of Georgia.
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The Election of Maynard Jackson (a video)
Maynard Jackson was the first black mayor of any Deep South's major city. He helped shape Atlanta by prioritizing the workforce and air transportation (he helped complete Hartsfield-Jackson airport early and under budget).
