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AKS 41a: Georgia's response to Brown v. Board of Education

Last updated 9 months ago
15 questions
41a: explain the government of Georgia's response to Brown v. Board of Education, including the 1956 flag and the Sibley Commission using primary and/or secondary sources (including artifacts like the flag)
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Who was Thurgood Marshall?

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How did the Board of Education respond to Marshall's challenge to segregated schools?

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What did the Supreme Court say about "separate but equal" ?

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In addition to desegregating schools, what else resulted from the ruling in Brown v. BOE?

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What previous Supreme Court ruling did Brown v. BOE overturn (or replace)?
HINT - we learned about the case/ruling in 'Unit 7 - New South'

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Put the following events in order from the earliest to the latest.

  1. Linda Brown was denied access to a white school in Topeka, Kansas. Her family brought a case against the Board of Education.
  2. While Kansas and other states desegregated schools, Georgia and other southern states challenged the ruling.
  3. The Brown’s case and others came before the Supreme Court known as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
  4. The Supreme Court ruled public facilities could be “separate but equal” in Plessy v. Ferguson case. For 60 years, public facilities were segregated under “Jim Crow” laws.
  5. The NAACP began to challenge segregation laws in public schools.
  6. The Supreme Court ruled segregation in schools was against the 14th amendment. States were asked to desegregate “with all deliberate speed.”

The following two videos show reactions to integrating schools in the South.


The "Little Rock Nine" were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering the racially segregated school by the Governor of Arkansas. They then attended after the intervention of President Dwight D. Eisenhower who sent the military to intervene and ensure that the students' rights were upheld.

Georgia's Response to the Brown v. Board Decision.

In 1954, Georgia’s response to the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education was deliberate and extreme. Segregationist politicians had worked to continue and strengthen the years-old Jim Crow laws in the state, and, upon hearing the Court’s 9 - 0 decision that racial segregation violated the 14th Amendment, determined that Georgia schools would not integrate.

The Georgia General Assembly supported “massive resistance” (white opposition to court ordered desegregation) and maintained a strong opposition to the forced integration of public schools. By 1960, however, federal mandates were strongly encouraging Georgia to desegregate, and Governor Ernest Vandiver asked the citizens of the state to render their input regarding the controversy via the Sibley Commission.

deliberate = done consciously and intentionally: (example - "a deliberate attempt to provoke conflict")
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How did Georgia’s government respond to the ruling in Brown v. BOE?

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What was "massive resistance"?

The Sibley Commission

John Sibley, a segregationist lawyer who also believed resistance to federal mandates was useless, led ten hearings across the state to determine if the people felt that they should continue to resist the federal government or change laws to integrate schools (Sibley wanted laws that would allow integration on a very small scale). After the sessions, 60% of Georgians claimed that they would rather close the public schools than to integrate.

Despite the findings, Sibley pushed for schools in Georgia to desegregate on a limited basis. Based on the commission’s findings, the legislature was set to vote on the matter in January 1961, but the integration of the University of Georgia shifted the governor’s and the legislature’s focus. After attempting to close the University of Georgia, only to be overruled by a federal judge, Vandiver gave in and asked the General Assembly to accept Sibley’s recommendations. Later that year, the city of Atlanta desegregated its schools.
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What was the Sibley Commission?

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What were the findings of the Commission?

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What were the recommendations of the Sibley Commission?

1956 Georgia State Flag:

In an attempt to show disdain to Supreme Court decisions such as Brown v Board of Education, in 1956, Georgia’s legislators voted to change the state flag to incorporate the Confederate battle flag. The state constitution provided the legislature the sole authority to change the flag so no public referendum was necessary to make the change. While legislators denied that the change in flag design was an overt display of opposition to desegregation, the new flag design was almost certainly racially motivated.

During the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1960’s, suggestions to return to the pre-1956 flag were stirring. By the 1980’s, legislative sessions considered restoring the pre-1956 flag. Sentiment for keeping the 1956 flag was stronger than the state legislators anticipated, however, and, in 1993, Governor Zell Miller’s attempt to change the flag almost cost him re-election. Even the impending 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games and Atlanta business leaders were unable to persuade the General Assembly to change the flag.

Finally, Governor Roy Barnes attempted to put the issue of the 1956 flag to rest. Before coalitions could be organized to slow or stop the change of the flag, Barnes encouraged the legislature to pass HB 16. After it was passed and the new flag design was revealed, supporters of the 1956 flag were livid, with some calling the new flag the “Barnes Rag”. With the upset victory of Sonny Perdue over Barnes in 2002, the flag issue continued to be debated. By 2004, citizens of Georgia voted to choose the current state flag over the Barnes flag.
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What were the reasons for the General Assembly's decision to change Georgia’s state flag in 1956?

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What was the symbolism of the new 1956 flag?

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Explain how the 1956 Georgia state flag change was a response to the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. BOE?

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What do you think Denmark Groover meant when he said the new flag "will show that we in Georgia intend to uphold what we stood for, will stand for and will fight for."