The Albany Movement
After the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, civil rights leaders in other southern cities sought to challenge segregation laws. One of the cities selected was Albany, in southwest Georgia. Starting in the fall of 1961, members of SNCC and the local community began to protest the segregationist policies of the city. Massive resistance from whites and the police department led to over 500 protesters landing in jail. However, unlike Montgomery, many of Albany’s black middle class did not initially support the protests. In turn, police chief Laurie Pritchett used non-violent tactics to arrest, but not harm the protestors.
To draw more national attention to the cause, the SNCC invited Martin Luther King Jr. to take part in the protest. Though arrested many times, King was released from jail almost immediately (though against his will). Chief Pritchett also made sure he had enough room to imprison all the protestors and worked with other counties to send the demonstrators to their jails as well. In the end most of the protestors were jailed leaving very few to protest.
By the summer of 1962, King viewed the Albany Movement as a failed attempt to desegregate an entire community, but a valuable learning experience. He used what he learned, including the power of protest songs, in his successful Birmingham campaigns. However, the black citizens of Albany believed that they had accomplished much. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, after King and the members of SNCC left the city, black voter registration led to a run-off election for an African- American nominee for a county commission seat. More importantly, the next spring the “county commission removed all segregation statutes from their books.” In 1998, the Albany Civil Rights Institute opened to commemorate the Civil Rights Movement and the role Albany played.
To draw more national attention to the cause, the SNCC invited Martin Luther King Jr. to take part in the protest. Though arrested many times, King was released from jail almost immediately (though against his will). Chief Pritchett also made sure he had enough room to imprison all the protestors and worked with other counties to send the demonstrators to their jails as well. In the end most of the protestors were jailed leaving very few to protest.
By the summer of 1962, King viewed the Albany Movement as a failed attempt to desegregate an entire community, but a valuable learning experience. He used what he learned, including the power of protest songs, in his successful Birmingham campaigns. However, the black citizens of Albany believed that they had accomplished much. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, after King and the members of SNCC left the city, black voter registration led to a run-off election for an African- American nominee for a county commission seat. More importantly, the next spring the “county commission removed all segregation statutes from their books.” In 1998, the Albany Civil Rights Institute opened to commemorate the Civil Rights Movement and the role Albany played.