The Civil Rights Movement
SS8H11- Evaluate the role of Georgia in the modern civil rights movement.
A. Explain Georgia’s response to Brown v. Board of Education including the 1956 flag and the Sibley Commission.
B. Describe the role of individuals (Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis), groups (SNCC and SCLC) and events (Albany Movement and March on Washington) in the Civil Rights Movement.
C. Explain the resistance to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, emphasizing the role of Lester Maddox.
A. Explain Georgia’s response to Brown v. Board of Education including the 1956 flag and the Sibley Commission.
B. Describe the role of individuals (Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis), groups (SNCC and SCLC) and events (Albany Movement and March on Washington) in the Civil Rights Movement.
C. Explain the resistance to the 1964 Civil Rights Act, emphasizing the role of Lester Maddox.
Georgia and Brown vs. Board of Education
On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a historic decision. The case, Brown v. Board of Education, wiped out the legal basis for racial segregation in public education. According to the Court, segregation laws were unconstitutional; they violated the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees all citizens equal protection (or treatment) under the law. Said the Court, “We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently [by nature] unequal.” The ruling threw the weight of the nation’s highest court behind the movement to give all citizens equal rights. In time, the entire federal government would uphold this principle.
In 1954, Georgia’s response to the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education was deliberate and extreme. Segregationist politicians had tirelessly worked to continue and strengthen the years-old Jim Crow laws in the state, and, upon hearing the Court’s 9 - 0 decision that racial segregation violated the 14th Amendment, determined that Georgia schools would not integrate. The Georgia General Assembly supported “massive resistance” (white opposition to court ordered desegregation) and maintained a strong opposition to the forced integration of public schools. By 1960, however, federal mandates were strongly encouraging Georgia to desegregate, and Governor Ernest Vandiver asked the citizens of the state to render their input regarding the controversy via the Sibley Commission.
John Sibley, a segregationist lawyer who also believed resistance to federal mandates was useless, led ten hearings across the state to determine if the people felt that they should continue to resist the federal government or change laws to integrate schools (Sibley wanted laws that would allow integration on a very small scale). After the sessions, 60% of Georgians claimed that they would rather close the public schools than to integrate. Despite the findings, Sibley pushed for schools in Georgia to desegregate on a limited basis. Based on the commission’s findings, the legislature was set to vote on the matter in January 1961, but the integration of the University of Georgia shifted the governor’s and the legislature’s focus. After attempting to close the University of Georgia, only to be overruled by a federal judge, Vandiver gave in and asked the General Assembly to accept Sibley’s recommendations. Later that year, the city of Atlanta desegregated its schools.
In 1954, Georgia’s response to the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education was deliberate and extreme. Segregationist politicians had tirelessly worked to continue and strengthen the years-old Jim Crow laws in the state, and, upon hearing the Court’s 9 - 0 decision that racial segregation violated the 14th Amendment, determined that Georgia schools would not integrate. The Georgia General Assembly supported “massive resistance” (white opposition to court ordered desegregation) and maintained a strong opposition to the forced integration of public schools. By 1960, however, federal mandates were strongly encouraging Georgia to desegregate, and Governor Ernest Vandiver asked the citizens of the state to render their input regarding the controversy via the Sibley Commission.
John Sibley, a segregationist lawyer who also believed resistance to federal mandates was useless, led ten hearings across the state to determine if the people felt that they should continue to resist the federal government or change laws to integrate schools (Sibley wanted laws that would allow integration on a very small scale). After the sessions, 60% of Georgians claimed that they would rather close the public schools than to integrate. Despite the findings, Sibley pushed for schools in Georgia to desegregate on a limited basis. Based on the commission’s findings, the legislature was set to vote on the matter in January 1961, but the integration of the University of Georgia shifted the governor’s and the legislature’s focus. After attempting to close the University of Georgia, only to be overruled by a federal judge, Vandiver gave in and asked the General Assembly to accept Sibley’s recommendations. Later that year, the city of Atlanta desegregated its schools.
Georgia Flag 1920-1956
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Georgia Flag 1956-2001
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Georgia's Flag Change. In an attempt to show disdain to Supreme Court decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education, in 1956, Georgia’s legislators voted to change the state flag to incorporate the Confederate battle flag. The state constitution provided the legislature the sole authority to change the flag so no public referendum was necessary to make the change. While legislators denied that the change in flag design was an overt display of opposition to desegregation, the new flag design was almost certainly racially motivated. This remained Georgia's flag until 2001.
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The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC - pronounced “snick”) was an important element in the struggle for civil rights. The SNCC was one of the major civil rights organizations of the 1960’s. A national organization formed in North Carolina, it worked with the Southern Leadership Conference and focused on orchestrating peaceful, non-violent protest. The group, made up of high school and college-aged students, became known for sit-ins, freedom rides, and the “freedom summer” in Mississippi.
In Georgia, the group began its focus on the cities of Albany and Atlanta. In Albany, the group was at the forefront of the Albany Movement, which many considered to be unsuccessful. However, the Albany Movement was beneficial in helping the group later organize more successful protests. In Atlanta, the group organized successful sit-ins in 1960. After moving their focus from Mississippi back to Atlanta in 1964, the group was victorious in helping African-Americans or Blacks gain several General Assembly seats in the reapportionment election. An example of this was the election of Julian Bond, who was the SNCC’s communications director. Bond retained his seat in the General Assembly for 20 years.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was created in 1957 in Montgomery, Alabama in reaction to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was living in Montgomery at the time, the organization eventually was supported by Southern religious leaders. The headquarters for the SCLC was moved to Atlanta. Filing class-action lawsuits against the federal government for sustaining segregated employee cafeterias, the SCLC planned rallies, marches, and boycotts to end such scenarios. The SCLC organized protests (the Albany Movement) and opportunities for the economic improvement of African-Americans or Blacks throughout the South. Though active throughout the Civil Right Movement, the SCLC continues to strive to change and impact lives. Never forgetting its original goal of civil rights equality, the SCLC today focuses on causes such as health care, prison reform, fair treatment of refugees, and job site safety.
In Georgia, the group began its focus on the cities of Albany and Atlanta. In Albany, the group was at the forefront of the Albany Movement, which many considered to be unsuccessful. However, the Albany Movement was beneficial in helping the group later organize more successful protests. In Atlanta, the group organized successful sit-ins in 1960. After moving their focus from Mississippi back to Atlanta in 1964, the group was victorious in helping African-Americans or Blacks gain several General Assembly seats in the reapportionment election. An example of this was the election of Julian Bond, who was the SNCC’s communications director. Bond retained his seat in the General Assembly for 20 years.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was created in 1957 in Montgomery, Alabama in reaction to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was living in Montgomery at the time, the organization eventually was supported by Southern religious leaders. The headquarters for the SCLC was moved to Atlanta. Filing class-action lawsuits against the federal government for sustaining segregated employee cafeterias, the SCLC planned rallies, marches, and boycotts to end such scenarios. The SCLC organized protests (the Albany Movement) and opportunities for the economic improvement of African-Americans or Blacks throughout the South. Though active throughout the Civil Right Movement, the SCLC continues to strive to change and impact lives. Never forgetting its original goal of civil rights equality, the SCLC today focuses on causes such as health care, prison reform, fair treatment of refugees, and job site safety.
Inspired by the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, residents of Albany, Georgia. decided to protest against the racially divisive practices in their segregated community. Led by three Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee members, Charles Sherrod, Cordell Reagon, and Charles Jones, members of the Albany community mobilized to form the Albany Movement in the winter of 1961. Over the course of a month, hundreds of protesters were jailed, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s presence was requested to bring additional media attention to the movement. The police, led by Chief Laurie Pritchett, chose to respond with nonviolent actions and secured enough jail space from surrounding counties to handle the resistance. King left feeling defeated, but gained experience and knowledge that he applied in future protests. Although Dr. King considered the Albany Movement to be largely unsuccessful, many residents believed otherwise, pointing to the forced run-off election for African-American Thomas Chatmon and the eventual desegregation of the city.
The March on Washington. In 1963, over 250,000 civil rights activists gathered in Washington D.C. to promote their cause and push for civil rights legislation. During the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave what is arguably his most famous speech: “I Have a Dream.” The March on Washington encouraged the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and The Voting Rights Act of 1965, and made King the most well-known spokesperson of the Civil Rights Movement.
". . . I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. 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. . ."
[August 28, 1963.]
". . . I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. 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. . ."
[August 28, 1963.]
