Discover Georgia

Black Suffrage in the Twentieth Century

The twentieth-century effort to mobilize black Georgians in the political process began during the 1930s and continues to the present. It involves a broad base of individuals and organizations whose common goal is to enhance black political influence and representation in all three branches of government. During the first years of the twenty-first century, a renewed effort has been made to organize and mobilize the African American community.

Historical Overview

During the 1930s Atlanta University Center professors began to organize "citizenship schools" designed to prepare African Americans to participate in the political process. Because Georgia had a whites-only primary at the time, blacks did not have any i...

Emancipation

Emancipation did not come suddenly or easily to Georgia. The liberation of the state's more than 400,000 slaves began during the chaos of the...

From Our Partners

Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints

The Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Atlanta University Center hosts the traveling exhibition Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art from the Northeast of Brazil...

Historically Black Colleges and Universities Initiative

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have been defined as institutions that were established before 1964 with the principal mission of educating African Americans. There are more than 100 HBCUs, located mainly in the southeastern ...

Freedom Singers

During the early 1960s the Freedom Singers, from Albany, performed throughout the country to raise funds for the...