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The Election of 1946 and the "3 Governors Controversy"
Eugene Talmadge was elected to be the Governor but he died before he could've even been sworn in. The General Assembly soon declared Herman Talmadge as the next governor, but soon after that the brand new lieutenant governor M.E. Thompson claimed he should be the governor. Governor Arnall agreed with Thompson and refused to give up the office. GA had 3 governors, but Secretary of State Ben Fortson refused to let any of them use the official state seal on government documents. -
Brown v. Board of Education
United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. -
State Flag
In 1955 the Atlanta attorney and state Democratic Party leader John Sammons Bell started a campaign to substitute th State's flag. The new flag showed GA's resistance to civil rights. This new flag hurt the state's economy because it was offensive. -
Formation of SNCC and the integration of Woodworth's lunch counter
SNCC=Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, its purpose was to give younger blacks more voice in the civil rights movement. -
Admission of Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes to UGA
First African Americans students admitted to the University of Georgia. On January 9, 1961 they arrived on campus to register. Both graduated in 1963 -
Albany Movement
SNCC and seven local black organizations formed the organization Albany Movement, their purpose was to end segregation in the city through negotiation rather than by violence. Martin Luther King Jr. was asked to help, and he led a march of several hundred people to pray at the city hall, several people were arrested, Martin Luther King Jr. went to jail a couple of times but when he would get out of jail he would continue his campaign. Eventually the movement failed. -
March on Washington
Te purpose of this march was to demostrate the tremendous support behind the civil right movements. In August 1963 more than 250,000 citizens gathered and marched in Washignton D.C. The highlight of the march was Martin Luther King's speech "I have a Dream" (it was about racial equality). -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
This movement ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. This movement was first proposed by President John F. Kennedy. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This act was signed into law by president Lyndon Johnson. Their goal was to overcome any legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote. -
Election of Maynard Jackson as mayor of Atlanta
Elected mayor of Atlanta in 1973. He was the first African American mayor of a major southern city. Jackson served 8 years and then later returned for a third term in 1990.
