South Downtown in Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Desegregation of Municipal Facilities (1961)
Warren LeMay via Flickr/Public domain, March 23, 2019
1. Desegregation of Municipal Facilities (1961) Marker
Inscription.
Desegregation of Municipal Facilities (1961). . On May 17, 1961, the 17th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawing segregation in public schools, members of the Atlanta Student Movement filed a lawsuit that sought to apply the anti-segregation principle to other taxpayer supported facilities. Under the guidance of civil rights lawyer Len Holt, Atlanta student leaders Benjamin Brown, Lonnie King, Charles Lyles and Herschelle Sullivan filed a suit alleging that segregation in Atlanta's municipal facilities violated the U.S. Constitution. Laws subjected blacks to segregation in all city-owned places of public assembly, including the few parks, pools and playgrounds designated for black use. The students' lawsuit, Brown v. City of Atlanta, described these policies as insulting, degrading, medieval, foolish and septic. On August 27, 1962, the students prevailed when a federal court struck down all ordinances requiring segregation in parks, arenas, theaters, auditoriums and other municipal facilities.
On May 17, 1961, the 17th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision outlawing segregation in public schools, members of the Atlanta Student Movement filed a lawsuit that sought to apply the anti-segregation principle to other taxpayer supported facilities. Under the guidance of civil rights lawyer Len Holt, Atlanta student leaders Benjamin Brown, Lonnie King, Charles Lyles and Herschelle Sullivan filed a suit alleging that segregation in Atlanta's municipal facilities violated the U.S. Constitution. Laws subjected blacks to segregation in all city-owned places of public assembly, including the few parks, pools and playgrounds designated for black use. The students' lawsuit, Brown v. City of Atlanta, described these policies as insulting, degrading, medieval, foolish and septic. On August 27, 1962, the students prevailed when a federal court struck down all ordinances requiring segregation in parks, arenas, theaters, auditoriums and other municipal facilities.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights. A significant historical date for this entry is May 17, 1961.
Location. 33° 44.963′ N, 84° 23.42′ W. Marker is in Atlanta, Georgia, in Fulton County. It is in South Downtown. It is on Mitchell Street SW east of Central
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Avenue SW, on the right when traveling east. Marker is on the Atlanta City Hall grounds. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Atlanta GA 30303, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Piedmont. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
2. Desegregation of Municipal Facilities (1961) Marker Side 1
Photographed by Craig Doda, September 2, 2024
3. Desegregation of Municipal Facilities (1961) Marker Side 2
Credits. This page was last revised on September 5, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 7, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 408 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos:1. submitted on December 7, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 2, 3. submitted on September 4, 2024, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio.
