This collection documents the Atlanta Student Movement during the Civil Rights Era. It highlights student activism in the Atlanta University Consortium (AUC); Clark College, Morris Brown, Morehouse College, Atlanta University, and Spelman College. The collection includes newspaper and journal articles, flyers, reports, photographs, and correspondence by and about students from the AUC schools. Of note are copies of An Appeal for Human Rights written by student leaders, which 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 Appeal was published as a full-page ad in the March 9, 1960 editions of the Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta Journal, and Atlanta Daily World. It was subsequently published in the New York Times, providing national awareness of student activism in the civil rights struggle in Atlanta. The issuance of the Appeal was followed by sit-ins and pickets at specifically targeted businesses, government and transportation facilities in Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia, and kneel-ins at churches. The participants in the Atlanta student movement organized commemorative reunions, 1990 and 2000 to re-examine the civil rights movement and discuss current efforts and projections for the future. Programs, minutes, correspondence, and news articles from the reunions are included in the collection. At the AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library, we are always striving to improve our digital collections. We welcome additional information about people, places, or events depicted in any of the works in this collection. To submit information, please contact us at DSD@auctr.edu.
Aug 24, 2023

Atlanta Student Movement Collection

This collection documents the Atlanta Student Movement during the Civil Rights Era. It highlights student activism in the Atlanta University Consortium (AUC); Clark College, Morris Brown, Morehouse College, Atlanta University, and Spelman College. The collection includes newspaper and journal articles, flyers, reports, photographs, and correspondence by and about students from the AUC schools. Of note are copies of An Appeal for Human Rights written by student leaders, which 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 Appeal was published as a full-page ad in the March 9, 1960 editions of the Atlanta Constitution, Atlanta Journal, and Atlanta Daily World. It was subsequently published in the New York Times, providing national awareness of student activism in the civil rights struggle in Atlanta. The issuance of the Appeal was followed by sit-ins and pickets at specifically targeted businesses, government and transportation facilities in Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia, and kneel-ins at churches. The participants in the Atlanta student movement organized commemorative reunions, 1990 and 2000 to re-examine the civil rights movement and discuss current efforts and projections for the future. Programs, minutes, correspondence, and news articles from the reunions are included in the collection.

At the AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library, we are always striving to improve our digital collections. We welcome additional information about people, places, or events depicted in any of the works in this collection. To submit information, please contact us at DSD@auctr.edu.
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A letter to Rev. Samuel Williams, President, Atlanta Branch, National Association For The Advancement of Colored People from Appeal For Human Rights Central Steering Committee asking for defense aid. 1 page.
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
Correspondence to Rev. Samuel Williams From COAHR, circa 1960
Date Created
1958/1962
Creator
Committee On the Appeal For Human Rights
Description
A letter to Rev. Samuel Williams, President, Atlanta Branch, National Association For The Advancement of Colored People from Appeal For Human Rights Central Steering Committee asking for defense aid. 1 page.
Subject
African American student movements, African American universities and colleges, African Americans--Civil rights, African American students
Collection
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
These are three political cartoons by Maurice Pennington about segregation and the civil rights protest. The first picture, "Needs A Size 45.1 percent", depicts an Atlanta Black student with a sign attached to his leg saying, " 'Suit' of Inadequate School Facilities". The second picture, "Fire Fighter?", shows a fireman with a label saying, "Some of Us", trying to out a house fire with gasoline. The gas pump is saying, "Gasoline. Pump of 'Still Buying' ", while simultaneously two students (one woman and one man) are putting out the fire with water and attached to them is a sign saying, "Students". Lastly, the third picture, "It's All Right to Seat Them. They're Not Americans", illustrates a hostess uncertain about seating two patrons of color and her manager explaining it's all right to seat them. 3 pages.
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
Maurice Pennington Political Cartoons, circa 1960
Date Created
1958/1962
Author
Pennington, Maurice
Creator
The Atlanta Inquirer
Description
These are three political cartoons by Maurice Pennington about segregation and the civil rights protest. The first picture, "Needs A Size 45.1 percent", depicts an Atlanta Black student with a sign attached to his leg saying, " 'Suit' of Inadequate School Facilities". The second picture, "Fire Fighter?", shows a fireman with a label saying, "Some of Us", trying to out a house fire with gasoline. The gas pump is saying, "Gasoline. Pump of 'Still Buying' ", while simultaneously two students (one woman and one man) are putting out the fire with water and attached to them is a sign saying, "Students". Lastly, the third picture, "It's All Right to Seat Them. They're Not Americans", illustrates a hostess uncertain about seating two patrons of color and her manager explaining it's all right to seat them. 3 pages.
Subject
African American student movements, African American universities and colleges, African Americans--Civil rights, African Americans--Segregation, Protest movements, Political cartoons
Collection
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
This is a handwritten letter to the Atlanta Inquirer from Johnny Parham. The letter is about a proposed agreement about ceasing the non-violent protest to desegregate schools. Parham describes his apprehensive sentiments about the agreement and its integrity. He is concerned that the movement would be in vain if the agreement was signed. The agreement is a compromise invalidating African Americans' legal entitlement to equal rights. Parham mentions the student movement, and African Americans have moved passed compromises but are in a stage of demanding their equal rights. 2 pages.
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
Correspondence to the Atlanta Inquirer from Johnny Parham, circa 1960
Date Created
1958/1962
Author
Parham, Johnny
Description
This is a handwritten letter to the Atlanta Inquirer from Johnny Parham. The letter is about a proposed agreement about ceasing the non-violent protest to desegregate schools. Parham describes his apprehensive sentiments about the agreement and its integrity. He is concerned that the movement would be in vain if the agreement was signed. The agreement is a compromise invalidating African Americans' legal entitlement to equal rights. Parham mentions the student movement, and African Americans have moved passed compromises but are in a stage of demanding their equal rights. 2 pages.
Subject
African American student movements, African American universities and colleges, African American pioneers, African Americans--Civil rights
Collection
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
This personal account details the March 15, 1960 sit-in at Sprayberry Cafeteria in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of a well-planned student movement against segregation. The movement involved coordination with various community representatives, including the police chief, to ensure a peaceful and strategic protest. The author recounts entering the cafeteria to desegregate it, with some students lining up for service and others at the deli counter. A conversation with a friend of the cafeteria owners ensued, and despite being asked to leave, the students remained. The cafeteria employees removed food from the hot tables, but the students managed to place food on their trays. When attempting to pay, the cashier refused, claiming they were giving away food for the day. Reporters arrived, seeking statements, which the students declined to provide. After an hour-long standoff, police officers arrived, and negotiations led to a decision not to arrest the students. The narrative highlights the students' commitment to being served in a federal building despite the challenges they faced. The aftermath of the protest included political repercussions, including a governor's heart attack and legal action taken against the students based on an obscure statute. Despite these challenges, the students' persistence contributed to advancing civil rights in Atlanta. 3 pages
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
"A Personal Account of the March 15, 1960 Sit-In at Sprayberry Cafeteria in Atlanta, Georgia", circa 1960
Date Created
1958/1962
Author
Parham, Johnny
Description
This personal account details the March 15, 1960 sit-in at Sprayberry Cafeteria in Atlanta, Georgia, as part of a well-planned student movement against segregation. The movement involved coordination with various community representatives, including the police chief, to ensure a peaceful and strategic protest. The author recounts entering the cafeteria to desegregate it, with some students lining up for service and others at the deli counter. A conversation with a friend of the cafeteria owners ensued, and despite being asked to leave, the students remained. The cafeteria employees removed food from the hot tables, but the students managed to place food on their trays. When attempting to pay, the cashier refused, claiming they were giving away food for the day. Reporters arrived, seeking statements, which the students declined to provide. After an hour-long standoff, police officers arrived, and negotiations led to a decision not to arrest the students. The narrative highlights the students' commitment to being served in a federal building despite the challenges they faced. The aftermath of the protest included political repercussions, including a governor's heart attack and legal action taken against the students based on an obscure statute. Despite these challenges, the students' persistence contributed to advancing civil rights in Atlanta. 3 pages
Subject
African American student movements, African American universities and colleges, African American pioneers, African Americans--Civil rights, Protest movements, Race discrimination
Collection
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
The handwritten document is a letter to the Atlanta Inquirer accounting for prejudicial practices and how prejudice strikes minority settings and communities. Parham describes the nature of prejudice as being unpredictable, and that it cannot be singularly directed. The letter begins with a reference to an incident of anti-Semitism and the bombing of a synagogue by Neo-Nazis and describes the prohibition of the entry of a young Jewish man into a social invite because he was Jewish. The author connects it to the plight of negroes and establishes that there is ineffective legislation to protect others from such prejudiced acts against African Americans and other minorities. 4 pages.
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
Correspondence to the Atlanta Inquirer from Johnny Parham on Prejudice, circa 1960
Date Created
1958/1962
Author
Parham, Johnny
Description
The handwritten document is a letter to the Atlanta Inquirer accounting for prejudicial practices and how prejudice strikes minority settings and communities. Parham describes the nature of prejudice as being unpredictable, and that it cannot be singularly directed. The letter begins with a reference to an incident of anti-Semitism and the bombing of a synagogue by Neo-Nazis and describes the prohibition of the entry of a young Jewish man into a social invite because he was Jewish. The author connects it to the plight of negroes and establishes that there is ineffective legislation to protect others from such prejudiced acts against African Americans and other minorities. 4 pages.
Subject
African American student movements, African Americans--Civil rights, Race discrimination
Collection
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
This article explores the emergence of a new form of leadership among American Negroes in the context of the civil rights movement. The author examines the changing leadership dynamics among African Americans following the wave of sit-ins, freedom rides, and demonstrations by Negro college students in 1960 and 1961. The study focuses on Atlanta, Georgia, and delves into the political attitudes, goals, and tactics of a group of Negro civic leaders in the city. 12 pages.
Atlanta Student Movement Collection
"Protest and Negotiation: A Case Study of Negro Leadership in Atlanta", Georgia, circa 1960
Date Created
1958/1962
Author
Walker, Jack L.
Description
This article explores the emergence of a new form of leadership among American Negroes in the context of the civil rights movement. The author examines the changing leadership dynamics among African Americans following the wave of sit-ins, freedom rides, and demonstrations by Negro college students in 1960 and 1961. The study focuses on Atlanta, Georgia, and delves into the political attitudes, goals, and tactics of a group of Negro civic leaders in the city. 12 pages.
Subject
African Americans--Georgia--Atlanta, African Americans--Civil rights, Protest movements
Collection
Atlanta Student Movement Collection