 |
The
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
1960-2000
0.5 linear feet
NOTE: A paper copy
of the finding aid,
with container list,
is available at the
Atlanta University
Center Archives for
in-house consultation
and may be obtained
for a fee.
The Atlanta Student Movement emerged out of the fight for justice and
equality for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.
The students
involved in these acts of courage and faith were part of the Atlanta University
Center schools – Atlanta University, Gammon Theological Seminary, Clark,
Morehouse, Morris Brown and Spelman Colleges. On March 9, 1960 students leaders
from the AUC schools published “An Appeal for Human Rights,” a full
page ad in the Atlanta Constitution, the Atlanta Journal, and the Atlanta Daily
World, and later in the New York Times. The appeal set forth the student’s
grievances, rights and aspirations as well as their dissatisfaction with the
status quo conditions of segregation and discrimination and the slow pace at
which inherent human and civil rights were being meted out to African Americans.
The students followed the issuance of the “Appeal” with kneel-ins
at local churches, and peaceful sit-ins and pickets at targeted businesses and
government and transportation facilities in Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia.
Additionally, they brought a civil lawsuit against the City of Atlanta that led
to the opening of publicly funded recreational facilities to all citizens of
Atlanta. Their actions proved successful in gaining public awareness throughout
the country, and helped change laws and public opinion. This
small collection of ephemera provides a glimpse of the involvement in the
Civil Rights Movement by
students from the Atlanta University Center schools.
The collection includes newspaper and journal articles,
flyers, reports, and correspondence by and about
students from the AUC schools and a few items about
student activities in other areas of the United States.
There are copies of the “Appeal” and
photographs and slides reproduced from the Atlanta
Constitution and the Atlanta Journal. The participants
in the Atlanta student movement organized commemorative
reunions in 1980, 1990, and 2000. The collection
includes programs, minutes, correspondence, and news
articles of the reunions including the second “Appeal” published
in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Atlanta
Daily World, and Atlanta Inquirer on March 31, 2000. |