1. CIVIL RIGHTS
The Role of Modern Georgia

2. Modern Civil Rights
40’s-50’s

3. The End of the White Primary
and County Unit System
 Georgia had a law declaring that only whites could
vote in primary elections.
 It kept African-Americans from participating in the
important primary elections. (example of
disenfranchisement)
 The White Primary was found unconstitutional in
1946.
 Since the County Unit System was found to support
racist candidates it was removed in 1962. Greatly
increasing the weight of minorities with each vote
counting the same.

4. The 1946 Governor’s Election
 According to the new state Constitution, Ellis
Arnall could not run for governor again.
 Eugene Talmadge was elected but died before
taking office.
 The General Assembly unsuccessfully tried to
give the election to Herman Talmadge
(Eugene’s son) instead .
 Ellis refused to give up the position of
Governor to Herman Talmadge.
 The GA Supreme Court ruled a new election
was required.
 Herman Talmadge was elected in 1947.

5. Herman Talmadge
 Elected governor in 1948 and
continued his father’s segregation
policies.
 Served as Governor (1948-1954)
and U.S. Senator (1956-1980)
 Believed in White Supremacy.

6. Benjamin E Mays
 Educator and civil rights activist.
 President of Morehouse College.
 Strongly influenced Martin Luther
King Jr.
 Promoted human dignity and its
relationship to American ideals.
 Believed in non-violent protest as a
means of change.
• Was a mediator between blacks & whites during
the SNCC protests in Atlanta
• Gave a speech at Dr. King’s funeral

7. Brown V. Board of Education
• 1950, Topeka Kansas, 7-year old, Linda Brown was not allowed to
enroll in an all white school
• The NAACP (group of educated black men improving rights) helped
Brown’s father sue the Board of Education in Kansas; the case went
all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court
• The 1954 Court ruled the Plessy case was unconstitutional and that
all schools were to be integrated “with all deliberate speed”.
• Many states were very slow in executing the order

8. Brown vs Board of Education- 1954
 U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
schools must be desegregated.
 It decided that segregation
denied equal opportunity to all
groups of people.
 It took many years to fully
enforce the law.

9. 1956 Flag Controversy
 Georgia politicians (many were
white supremacists) responded to
desegregation by changing the
state flag.
 It added the confederate battle flag
to remind people of its past.
 Many people took it to symbolize a
connection to a time when Georgia
promoted slavery.
• Modern leaders were discouraged that
people were looking at the past & not into
the future

10. State Flags
1920-1956 2001-2003
2003-present
1956-2001

11. State Flag
• The use of the flag damaged the reputation and tourist industry in GA
• Lost convention & exhibition money
• Boycotts imposed on conventions
• 2001- Gov. Roy Barnes was asked to change the flag by civic leaders,
business men/developers, the hospitality industry, the Atlanta Convention &
Visitors Bureau and the legislative Black Caucus
• It was changed but still contained the illustration of the confederate flag
• 2003 -Sonny Perdue used the flag as a campaign issue and won against
Gov. Barnes
• The 2003 flag is based on the first flag of the Confederacy, 2004 the
flag was voted on 3-1 by the people of Georgia

12. Terms to Know
Write two definitions for each of the following words.
A. The Text B. Your own words
1. Integration
2. segregate
3. sit-in
4. discrimination
5. racism

13. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
 Leader of the U.S. civil rights
movement.
 Gifted speaker and leader.
 Led freedom marches to draw
attention to the movement.
 Gave famous “I have a Dream”
speech in Washington D.C. to
250,000 people.
 Believed in a non-violent
approach to social change.
 Was assassinated for his beliefs
in 1968.

14. Modern Civil Rights
50’s and 60’s

15. Student Non-violent-Coordinating Committee
SNCC
 SNCC was a student formed
civil rights organization .
 Used non-violent / direct action
methods (sit-ins, marches).
 Protestors would occupy buses,
restaurants, etc. and refuse to
leave.

16. Greensboro Sit-in

17. Sibley Commission
 Formed to gather information about how
Georgians felt about integration.
 Federal law was demanding that Georgia
desegregate its schools.
 It found the majority of Georgians were
willing to close schools rather than accept
integration.

18. Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton
Holmes
 First black students to
attend the University of
Georgia in 1961.
 There were many protests
against their attendance
and some alumni wanted
the school to close rather
than accept them.

19. Albany Movement
 Freedom march organized by
SNCC and the NAACP.
 Martin Luther King led hundreds
of protestors in Albany, GA to
resist segregation.
 King and many others were
arrested.
 Although considered a failure at
the time, it led to the removal of
many segregation laws.

20. March on Washington
 March for jobs and freedom-
August 1963.
 Congress had been slow to pass
President Kennedy’s civil rights
bill.
 Martin Luther King gave his
famous “ I have a Dream”
speech.
 Goals were to raise attention to
civil rights, fair employment,
education, and housing.

21. Left Side Assignment
3 Facts and an Opinion
 In complete sentences, write 3 important
facts about what you have learned and one
opinion that you believe is significant about
today’s information.
 Facts:
1. Factual sentence 1
2. Factual sentence 2
3. Factual sentence 3
4. A thoughtful opinion.

22. Civil Rights Act of 1964
 Signed into law by President
Lyndon Johnson.
 Guaranteed equal voting rights.
 Prohibited segregation in all
public places.
 Created an Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.
 Gave the Federal Government
the right to withhold funds from
states that resisted the law.

23. Lester Maddox
 Governor 1966-1970
 Promoted segregation and
resisted civil rights.
 Found it difficult to resist
against the Civil Right Act.
 He later began to appoint blacks
to important positions.

24. End of County Unit System
 Georgia’s voting system favored rural white
voters.
 In 1962, Federal Court decided that it
violated the 14th Amendment.
 It was replaced with a “one person-one vote”
system.
 Blacks were elected to state offices for the
first time since Reconstruction.

25. Maynard Jackson
 Elected mayor of Atlanta in 1973
 First African-American mayor of
a major U.S. city.
 Helped blacks reach higher
status jobs.
 Expanded Atlanta’s Hartsfield
Airport and MARTA
transportation systems.

26. Andrew Young
 Aide to Martin Luther King Jr.
 Elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1972.
 First black congressman from
GA since Reconstruction.
 Appointed U.S. Ambassador to
the United Nations by President
Jimmy Carter.
 Later twice elected Mayor of
Atlanta.

27. Left Side Timeline
 There are 12 dates given in your notes.
 Pick at least 10 of those dates and place them
in a timeline with the key information that
goes with them.
 The first is given here:
1946- The Three Governors Controversy.
Other dates include:
1948,1954,1956,1961,1962,1963,1964,1966,
1968,1972,1973
List your dates from top to bottom on your page.

28. Civil Rights Notes Review
John Sibley Eugene Talmadge Martin Luther King Ellis Arnall
Andrew Young Maynard Jackson Charlayne Hunter
Lyndon Johnson Benjamin Mays Lester Maddox
1. Mentor (influential) to Martin Luther King.
2. President who signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
3. One of the first black students at University of Georgia.
4. Led a commission to see if Georgians would desegregate.
5. Died before taking office as Georgia governor in 1946.
6. Atlanta’s first black mayor.
7. Governor who ordered a mass police force at MLK’s funeral.
8. First black U.S. Congressman from Georgia since the 1800s.
9. Gave the “I have a Dream” speech in 1963.
10. Governor who lowered the voting age to 18 years.

29. Who would you meet?
 If you could have had lunch with one of
the civil rights leaders we have learned
about, who would you have liked to meet
and why?
 A good paragraph-5-7 sentences.