Civil Rights Movement - Georgia

Overview

• The civil rights movement in the American South was a major social movement, with Black Georgians playing a significant role.
• Activism ranged from legal challenges, demonstrations, and strikes to self-defense.
• By 1965, federal civil rights legislation prohibited segregation.

Early Years of Protest

• Resistance to segregation began in the late 19th century.
• Protests in Savannah and Atlanta against public transport segregation.
• Local acts of resistance, e.g., Atlanta washerwomen strike.
• Henry McNeal Turner supported back-to-Africa programs; Marcus Garvey's movement gained traction.
• Establishment of schools, churches, and social institutions by Black Georgians.

World War II Era

• Economic changes due to the New Deal and WWII.
• Black veterans confronted white supremacy.
• Thomas Brewer and Primus King challenged voting discrimination in 1944.
• Legal victory in King v. Chapman et al. led to increased Black voter registration.
• Retaliation by white supremacists like Eugene Talmadge.

Mass Protests During the 1960s

• Adoption of nonviolent mass protests in major cities.
• Martin Luther King Jr.'s involvement in the Albany Movement (1961-62).
• Successful desegregation efforts led by W.W. Law in Savannah.
• Students led protests in Atlanta despite city government resistance.

Protest in the Countryside

• Efforts by SNCC in southwest Georgia's Black Belt.
• SNCC volunteers faced violence; focused on long-term change.
• Notable opposition and limited organized protest in rural areas.

Continuing Struggle for Civil Rights

• Federal legislation in 1964 and 1965 marked a new phase.
• Persistent issues in housing, unemployment, and police brutality.
• Significant events: Augusta riot (1970), Forsyth County marches (1987).

Political and Educational Advances

• Mobilization of Black voters; challenges in gerrymandering.
• Notable political successes: Andrew Young and Maynard Jackson.
• Continued economic challenges and educational integration efforts.

Images

• Various images depicting key figures and events in the civil rights movement are included to illustrate the historical context.