Activism in the US

Anti-War Activism

Courtesy of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center. Cite as: Bill Wilson Photographs, Kenan Research Center, Atlanta History Center,  Atlanta, Ga.

View of two unidentified African American Murphy High School students in Atlanta, Georgia on the day the school was desegregated. Murphy High School was among the first all-white schools in Atlanta, Georgia to desegregate.  The other schools were Brown High, Henry Grady High, and Northside High, all of whom admitted African American students on August 30, 1961.

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School desegregation was a major component of the civil rights movement.  After the milestone Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, replacing the legacy “separate but equal” education system (which was in reality very unequal, seriously disadvantaging African Americans and other minorities) with an integrated approach was inevitable.  Implementation proved difficult, however, with considerable resistance and even violent reaction, especially in the southern states.  Desegregation began with the public schools. A notable early example was Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Integration of higher education institutions did not escape the controversy and violence, when even state governors resisted and the federal government responded with substantial force.  However, the ultimate goal of educational integration was eventually achieved in most places, often peacefully. Some opponents of desegregation responded in other ways, for example, white flight to private schools, to avoid integrated institutions.

Education Activism

Civil Rights Movements

Civil Rights Demonstrations

Civil Rights Actions

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Women’s Activism

LGBT Activisim

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of students debating integration at the University of Georgia following the court-ordered admission of African American students Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes in Athens, Georgia, 1961 January

In this WSB newsfilm clip from January 1961, several unidentified white students at the University of Georgia debate the university's court-ordered integration and the admission of African American students Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes. The debating students, standing on the steps of a campus building, are divided by their opinion; those against African American students at the university stand on the left and the student arguing for the African American students at the university stands on the right. The students against integration argue that the state provides educational institutions for African Americans and ask why Holmes and Hunter do not want to attend those institutions. The student for integration explains that the African American colleges do not provide the same opportunities as white colleges. One of the students against integration responds that the University of Georgia also pays to send African American students to out-of-state institutions if they want to go. The student for integration asks his fellow debaters if they would like to have to attend school out of state instead of having the privilege of staying close to home. The students against integration repeat that the state provides African American institutions, adding that African Americans would not be able to build the schools without the state's financial support. The student for integration counters that African Americans do not have the same employment opportunities and so do not pay as much in taxes as white citizens. Continuing, he asserts that the African American students seeking integration want to improve their economic and educational status. He concludes by asking if African Americans are lesser citizens of the state than those with whom he is debating.

WSB-TV (Television station : Atlanta, Ga.)

Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection

Courtesy of Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Award Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga.  Cite as: WSB-TV newsfilm clip of students debating integration at the University of Georgia following the court-ordered admission of African American students Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes in Athens, Georgia, 1961 January, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 0815, 49:56/51:40, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga.

http://54.245.164.12:3000/dlg/items/mp4/ugabma_wsbn_36888.mp4

Digital Library of Georgia

On January 6, 1961, federal Judge W. A. Bootle ordered the admission of Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter to the University of Georgia, creating a crisis since state legislators had forbidden support of integrated schools. Order prevailed until January 11, when an angry mob gathered outside Hunter's dormitory. State officials condemned the rioters and repealed the laws barring support of integrated schools.
On September 30, 1962, riots erupted at the University of Mississippi where segregationists protested the enrollment of African American air force veteran James Meredith. Despite the presence of 120 federal marshals, the crowd turned violent, with two civilians killed and scores injured.  Meredith registered for classes the following morning, and became the first African American graduate in August 1963.
On May 16, 1963, a federal district court ordered the University of Alabama to admit African American students Vivian Malone and James Hood, ensuring a showdown between federal authorities and Governor George Wallace who had promised to prevent integration by standing in the schoolhouse door. On June 11, Wallace temporarily blocked the students' entrance to Foster Auditorium. Although he yielded when President Kennedy federalized Alabama's National Guard, Wallace earned a nationwide reputation for white resistance.

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of Charlayne Hunter speaking to reporter Dave Sisson about a visit to the University of Georgia and her feelings on African American students at the school, Athens, Georgia, 1969 November 21

In this WSB newsfilm clip from November 21, 1969, Charlayne Hunter speaks to a reporter about her recent visit to the University of Georgia and her feelings about African American students on the campus in Athens, Georgia.

Courtesy of Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Award Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga.  Cite as: WSB-TV newsfilm clip of Charlayne Hunter speaking to reporter Dave Sisson about a visit to the University of Georgia and her feelings on African American students at the school, Athens, Georgia, 1969 November 21, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 1582, 47:06/48:18, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga.

http://54.245.164.12:3000/dlg/items/mp4/ugabma_wsbn_57545.mp4

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of reporters interviewing James Meredith, first African American student at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, 1962 October 1

In this WSB newsfilm clip from Oxford, Mississippi on October 1, 1962, reporters interview African American student James Meredith after he registers for classes at the University of Mississippi or "Ole Miss."

Courtesy of Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Award Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga.  Cite as: WSB-TV newsfilm clip of reporters interviewing James Meredith, first African American student at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, 1962 October 1, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 0820, 57:39/58:53, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga.

http://54.245.164.12:3000/dlg/items/mp4/ugabma_wsbn_37210.mp4

WSB-TV newsfilm clip of African American students Vivian Malone and James Hood after registering for classes at the formerly segregated University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 1963 June 11

In this WSB newsfilm clip from the Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on June 11, 1963, African American students Vivian Malone and James Hood speak to reporters after registering for classes and integrating the university.

Courtesy of Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Award Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga.  Cite as: WSB-TV newsfilm clip of African American students Vivian Malone and James Hood after registering for classes at the formerly segregated University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 1963 June 11, WSB-TV newsfilm collection, reel 0782, 10:01/11:33, Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Ga.

http://54.245.164.12:3000/dlg/items/mp4/ugabma_wsbn_35229.mp4

Activism in the US

University Desegregation

University Desegregation