Post WW2 and Civil Rights

• Brown v. Board of Education:

  • A girl was denied entry to an all-white school in Kansas, leading to a case
  • The case ruled that the school was equal, but it sparked similar cases in other states
  • The Supreme Court desegregated all states and declared segregation illegal
  • Overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling
• 1956 Flag:

  • Changed as a backlash towards Brown v. Board of Education
  • Senators Jefferson Lee Davis and Willis Harden sponsored the flag bill
  • Groover stated the new flag represented Georgia's intentions to uphold and fight for their beliefs
  • Remained Georgia's flag for 45 years
• Sibley Commission:

  • Governor Ernest Vandiver Jr. had to choose between closing public schools or desegregating them
  • Committee gathered residents' sentiments on integration and reported back to the governor
  • An amendment forced the governor to cut off state funding to desegregated schools
  • Sibley, who opposed desegregation, was chosen to lead the commission
  • Believed in state-led integration, not federal government intervention
• Several factors caused Georgia’s population to shift from rural to urban areas:

  • Destruction of the cotton crop by the boll weevil
  • Great Migration of Blacks to northern cities
  • Movement of both blacks and whites to Georgia’s industrial centres and factories during both World Wars
  • AAA’s payments to farmers to stop them from growing crops during the Great Depression
  • Major technological change in agricultural equipment after World War II
• Technological changes in agriculture after World War II:

  • Larger tractors, reapers, and other machinery
  • Better fertilisers that made it easier to grow and process crops with much less manpower
• Rural population in Georgia has decreased from almost 85% in 1900 to less than 25% today

  • Farming remains the most important part of Georgia’s economy, bringing in $56 billion a year to the state
• William B. Hartsfield:

  • Known for bringing air transportation to the state
  • Coined the phrase "the city too busy to hate"
  • Atlanta's longest serving mayor
  • Supported civil rights movement to prevent racial violence in Atlanta
• Ivan Allen Jr.:

  • Continued Hartsfield's aggressive development policies
  • More adamant in the fight for civil rights
  • Desegregated city hall's cafeteria on his first day as mayor
  • Instrumental in building Interstate 285 and advocating for M.A.R.T.A commuter rail line
• Ellis Arnall:

  • Undertook an ambitious ten-point reform program as governor of Georgia
  • Paid off a state debt of $36 million
  • Defeated Eugene Talmadge to become the youngest governor in the nation
  • Considered among the most progressive and effective governors in Georgia's modern history
• Arnall abolished the poll tax, reduced the voting age, revised the state constitution, and paid off the long-existing state debt without increasing taxes
• Arnall's accomplishments as Governor include reforming the state penal system, repealing the poll tax, lowering the voting age, revising the state constitution, establishing a teachers' retirement system, and paying off the long-existing state debt
• Arnall led efforts to create eight constitutional boards to reduce the power of the governor, established a merit system for state employees, and created the State Ports Authority
• Arnall successfully led the South's fight against discriminatory railroad freight rates
• Arnall's political downfall was due to his stance on allowing blacks to vote in the state's white primaries, which led to opposition from the Eugene Talmadge faction
• The Three Governors Controversy was a race between three individuals who wanted to be governor after Eugene Talmadge's death
• The impact of the Three Governors Controversy made Georgia a nationwide laughing stock
• The white primary was used by Southern whites to prevent African-Americans or Blacks from voting in the Democratic primary
• The 1946 Governor's Race led to blacks suing the state over the white primary
• Georgia General Assembly supported "massive resistance" to court-ordered desegregation
• Governor Ernest Vandiver asked for input via the Sibley Commission on whether to resist federal mandates or integrate schools
• Sibley Commission led by John Sibley held hearings across Georgia to determine the public's stance on integration
• 60% of Georgians preferred closing public schools over integration
• Despite findings, Sibley pushed for limited desegregation in Georgia
• Legislature set to vote on desegregation in January 1961
• Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education overturned Plessy v. Ferguson
• Georgia opposed Brown v. Board of Education ruling, believing in white superiority
• 1956 Georgia State Flag changed to incorporate Confederate battle flag in opposition to desegregation
• Sibley Commission recommended desegregating schools despite public opinion
• Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis were key leaders in the Civil Rights Movement
• Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) led by Dr. King aimed for civil rights equality
• John Lewis led the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in peaceful protests
• Albany Movement in Georgia challenged segregation laws, faced massive resistance, and was a learning experience for future campaigns
• After the Albany Movement, black voter registration led to a run-off election for a Black nominee for a county commission seat
• The county commission removed all segregation statutes from their books the next spring
• The Albany Civil Rights Institute opened in 1998 to commemorate the Civil Rights Movement and Albany's role
• Over 250,000 civil rights activists gathered in Washington D.C. in 1963 for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
• Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington
• The March on Washington encouraged the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and The Voting Rights Act of 1965
• The event focused on employment discrimination, civil rights abuses against African Americans, Latinos, and other disenfranchised groups
• President Kennedy mobilised 5,900 officers and 6,000 soldiers and National Guardsmen for protection during the March on Washington