PSE - Early Civil Rights Activists (Lesson)
Early Civil Rights Activists
Introduction
With the turmoil facing Georgia at the turn of the 20th century, the state saw national civil rights activists become increasingly outspoken and gain attention. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois called national attention to the atrocities facing the African American population in the South. Even with the hardships of Jim Crow laws many African Americans saw success in their lives. Men like Alonzo Herndon who became the wealthiest African American with his Atlanta Insurance Company became models for the African American community. The South began to see resistance to the white supremacy.
Early Civil Rights Activists
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Review
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Racial segregation and Jim Crow laws led to the rising of the first Civil Rights advocates. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B DuBois approached the thought of equality differently, but all wanted to see the rights of African Americans raised to equal status. Georgia, Atlanta in particular, has a rich Civil Rights history. The work of John and Lugenia Hope Burns left a lasting legacy on the education outreach programs within the city. Alonzo Herndon shows the example on how with proper skills, the African American population could rise to become successful businessmen rather than sharecroppers. Change was a slow process, which ultimately stalled due to the start of World War One as the focus shifted to international affairs.
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF THE NEW GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA, ALL OTHER IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS