Columbus in Muscogee County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Primus King and the Civil Rights Movement

Photographed By Mark Hilton, February 4, 2017

1. Primus King and the Civil Rights Movement Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

The modern Civil Rights Movement in Georgia began on July 4, 1944, when Primus E. King, an African-American barber and minister, attempted to vote at the Muscogee County Courthouse in the Democratic Party’s primary election, which barred blacks from participating. King, a registered voter, was roughly turned away by a law enforcement officer. With the encouragement and financial backing of local activist Dr. Thomas Brewer, King filed suit in Federal court in Macon, arguing that excluding black voters was unconstitutional. The court ruled in King’s favor, as did the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, ending Georgia’s “whites only” primary. King’s challenge eliminated the legal barriers to black voting in Georgia’s state and local elections and set in motion a statewide black voter registration campaign that helped end disfranchisement and the system of Jim Crow discrimination.

Erected 2015 by the Georgia Historical Society, the city of Columbus, Historic Columbus, and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. (Marker Number 106-3.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these

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topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Law Enforcement. A significant historical date for this entry is July 4, 1944.

Location. 32° 27.871′ N, 84° 59.435′ W. Marker is in Columbus, Georgia, in Muscogee County. Marker is at the intersection of 2nd Avenue and East 10th Street, on the right when traveling south on 2nd Avenue. Located on the east lawn of the Government Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2nd Avenue, Columbus GA 31901, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Birthplace of Georgia's Woman Suffrage Movement (a few steps from this marker); Red Jacket (within shouting distance of this marker); POW✯MIA Monument (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate Hospitals (within shouting distance of this marker); Ladies Defender (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Springer Opera House (about 300 feet away); Dr. Thomas H. Brewer (about 600 feet away); Columbus Symphony Orchestra (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbus.

Also see . . . The New Georgia Encyclopedia article on Primus E. King (1900-1986). Includes photo of Primus King. Excerpt: “King's challenge to the white primary

View from marker north on 2nd Avenue. image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mark Hilton, February 4, 2017

2. View from marker north on 2nd Avenue.

had been planned by a group of Columbus African American civil rights activists led by Dr. Thomas Brewer. By prearrangement King, after his rejection, walked several blocks to the office of Oscar D. Smith Sr., a white attorney, who prepared a lawsuit against members of the Muscogee County Democratic Party Executive Committee, chaired by Joseph E. Chapman, for denying King his right, as a citizen of the United States, to vote. In September 1945 the arguments in King v. Chapman et al. commenced in a federal district court in Macon. Smith and King’s other principal lawyer, Harry S. Strozier of Macon, argued that their client's right to vote under the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Seventeenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution had been violated. They asked for $5,000 in damages for the plaintiff.” (Submitted on February 5, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Looking south on 2nd Avenue image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Mark Hilton, February 4, 2017

3. Looking south on 2nd Avenue

Credits. This page was last revised on November 17, 2019. It was originally submitted on February 5, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 515 times since then and 40 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week July 7, 2019. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 5, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.