Modern Georgia
And
Civil Rights
By: Raisa Mazumder
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta,
Georgia. He was a civil rights activist. In 1954, he accepted
an offer to become a pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist
Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He led many protests,
boycotts, and had victories like the Montgomery Bus
Boycott, the Albany Movement, March on Washington,
his creation of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC), and winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a success. The Albany
Movement didn’t have much impact, but it led to greater
success in the future. He was one of the important people
that led to the end of segregation and changed America’s
view on racial equality. He gave his “I Have A Dream”
speech on August 28, 1963 near Lincoln Memorial in
Washington DC. He got assassinated on April 4, 1968.
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John Lewis
John Lewis was born on February 21, 1940 in Pine
County, Alabama. In the beginning of his career, his
protest were about the Jim Crow laws. He
participated in the Freedom Rides of the early
1960’s. He became the chairman of the Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In
1965, he led over 600 marches across the Edmund
Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. He worked with
Dr. King on the 1963 March on Washington. In
November 1986, he was elected to the United
States Congress from the Fifth District where he
still continues to serve today.
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Andrew Young
Andrew Young was born on March 12, 1932. He
began his career as a pastor. He also helped in
the SCLC during the 1960’s. He was a senior aide
to Martin Luther King Jr. He became the United
States Ambassador to the United Nations from
1977 to 1979. He also became the mayor of
Atlanta from 1982 to 1990.
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Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia. He was a
state senator, governor, and the only person from Georgia to be
elected as President. He was also the second person to win the
Nobel Peace Prize from Georgia (Martin Luther King Jr. was the first).
He went to the Naval Academy and graduated from there in 1946. In
1962, he got elected as the state senator and advocated for
education and served as the chairman of the Senate Education
Committee. By 1970, he ran for governor and got elected. As a
governor, he was well known for his reorganization of state
government, his consolidation of state agencies, and improving
Georgia’s educational, justice, and mental health system. In the 1976
presidential election, he defeated President Ford. As a president, he
made the Camp David Peace Accords between Egypt and Israel and
the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II) with the Soviet
Union. After his presidency was over, he founded the Carter Center.
The Center monitored elections, resolved conflicts, and treated
diseases world wide.
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Ivan Allen Jr.
Ivan Allen Jr. was born on March 15, 1911 in Atlanta,
Georgia. He was Atlanta’s Mayor from 1962 to 1970. On
his first day as a mayor, he had all the whites and
colored signs removed city hall and desegregated the
building’s cafeteria. He was important in the making of
Interstate 285 and was an early advocate of the
M.A.R.T.A. commuter rail line. He is best known for his
support of bringing major league sports team to Atlanta.
He brought the baseball team, the Braves in 1966. He
brought the NFL team, the Falcons in 1966 too. He also
brought the basketball team, the Hawks in 1968. He
helped bring the 1996 Olympic Games to Atlanta.
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Maynard Jackson
Maynard Jackson was born on March 23, 1938. He was
elected in 1973 as the first black mayor of Atlanta.
While in office, Jackson expanded the airport. He
helped improve racial equality in the city by hiring
more black police officers and gave more businesses to
black contractors. He died on June 23, 2003. In honor of
him, Atlanta added his name to airport and it became
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
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William B. Hartsfield
William B. Hartsfield was born on March 1, 1890 in
Atlanta, Georgia. He served as a mayor from 1937 to
1941 and 1942 to 1961. His support of the civil rights
movement kept Atlanta from the racial violence
that engulfed many other southern cities. He
opened Atlanta’s first airport in 1925. He expanded
Atlanta’s expressway system, built many public
parks, and tripled Atlanta’s size. During his
administration, called Atlanta “The City Too To
Hate.” After his death on 1971, Atlanta named the
airport Hartsfield International in his honor.
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Lester Maddox
Lester Maddox was born on September 30, 1915. In 1947, he
opened the Pickrick Cafeteria near the campus of Georgia
Tech. This restaurant was only for white people. He didn’t
serve to Blacks or African Americans. He became known
throughout the nation when he forcefully removed African
Americans from integrating his restaurant. Maddox closed
the Pickrick temporarily and later opened it as the Lester
Maddox Cafeteria. Because of him not wanting to
desegregate his restaurant, the court fined him $200 per
day. Two months later, he closed the restaurant rather than
to desegregate. His views on African Americans changed as
years went by. In 1966, Maddox surprised many people by
beating Ellis Arnall for Governor in the democratic party. He
appointed many African Americans to government positions
than other Georgia governor's combined.
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Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a Supreme Court case
that was based on segregation of children.
Segregationist worked tirelessly trying to continue the
Jim Crow laws, but it was pointless considering that they
heard the Court’s 9-0 decision that racial segregation
violated the 14th amendment. At the end, Georgia
desegregated not only schools, but many hotels,
restaurants, etc.
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SALT II and Iranian Hostage
Situation
Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II) was signed the
United States and the Soviet Union in 1972 and 1979 and
were intended to prevent the arms race with nuclear
weapons. The Iranian Hostage Situation was between Iran
and the United States of America. 52 Americans were held
hostage by Iranian students for 444 days from Nov 4, 1979
to Jan 20, 1981.
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SNCC and SCLC
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC) was made up by high school and college
aged students. They became known for sit-ins,
freedom rides, and the “freedom summer” in
Mississippi. Their purpose was to focus on
orchestrating peaceful, nonviolent protest.
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
was created on 1957, in Montgomery, Alabama.
SCLC planned rallies, marches, and boycotts to end
segregation. Today, SCLC focuses on health care,
prison reform, job site safety, and fair treatment of
refugees.
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MARTA, I-285, and Gwinnett
population
MARTA and I-285 and some of the
transportation in Georgia. MARTA is a
rapid transportation system. I-285 can
help deliver goods to the city faster.
Gwinnett County has the highest
population out of all the counties in
Georgia.
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State Flag and Sibley
Commission
To show that Georgia disliked the Court’s decision of
Brown v. Board of Education, Georgia’s Legislators voted
on changing the states flag to the Confederate battle flag.
It stayed up there for 45 years. Finally, it changed in 2001
by Governor Roy Earnes. It was changed again in 2004.
The purpose of the Sibley Commission was to
desegregate schools. 60% of Georgia’s claimed that they
would rather close public schools than to integrate.
Georgia didn’t want to desegregate schools, but they got
overruled by the judge. That resulted in desegregating
schools.
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Civil Rights Act and March
on Washington
Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended segregation in public
places. It also banned employment discrimination.
The March on Washington took place during 1963.
Over 250,000 civil rights activists gathered in
Washington D.C. to push for civil rights legislation.
During the march, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his
famous speech “I have a Dream.”
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1996 Olympic Games
1996 Olympic Games took place in
Atlanta, Georgia. The Olympic Games
brought many people and jobs to the city.
Atlanta built new or added to existing
sport venues, repaired it’s sidewalks, built
public parks, and added more hotel
rooms. The Olympic Games caused
Georgia to have at least 6 billion dollars
to themselves.
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And that’s the end.
Hope you enjoyed my
presentation!
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