After the Brown v. Board supreme court decision, the Georgia General Assembly supported “massive resistance” to the desegregation of Georgia’s public schools. By 1960, Georgia Governor Ernest Vandiver was facing the choice of following federal mandates or closing Georgia’s public schools. Not wanting to make the choice without the input of the voters, Vandiver pushed for legislation that would create a committee to investigate Georgians’ opinions on the matter.
John Sibley, a segregationist lawyer who also believed resistance to federal mandates was useless, led 10 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. 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 over ruled 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.
John Sibley, a segregationist lawyer who also believed resistance to federal mandates was useless, led 10 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. 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 over ruled 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.