Women Activists in the Fight for Georgia School Desegregation, 1958-1961

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Women Activists in the Fight for Georgia School Desegregation, 1958-1961 is written by Rebecca H. Dartt and published by McFarland. It's available with International Standard Book Number or ISBN identification 147660004X (ISBN 10) and 9781476600048 (ISBN 13).

On the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the Georgia General Assembly enacted a series of massive anti-desegregation laws to stand in opposition to the federal mandate. Governor Ernest Vandiver was elected with an overwhelming majority after promising to close every school if even "one Negro" entered a white classroom. While the fight for segregated schools was certainly strong, a small group of women in Atlanta's white community played a radical role in bringing peaceful desegregation to the Georgia school system. This book tells the story of HOPE (Help Our Public Education), beginning with a small neighborhood coffee chat then growing through mail and meeting campaigns across the state. The women of HOPE changed the school crisis from politics-as-usual to public controversy. Based on factual material found in library special collections, books, newspapers, transcripts, symposiums, and several interviews, this book honors and tells the story of a small group of courageous, hard-working women credited with creating a public climate in which peaceful desegregation was possible.