Why was the Albany Movement needed?

In 1961, Albany, Georgia became a center of the Civil Rights movement. Mainly a farming community, Albany had a population that was about 40 percent African-Americans. In 1960, Albany schools were still segregated and a small number of African Americans were allowed to register to vote.

What did the people of the Albany Movement do?

In 1955, the Supreme Court decision made segregation in bus and train stations illegal. On November 1, 1961, workers with the NAACP and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) decided to test the ruling. They sat in the “whites only” waiting room at the city’s bus station. They were arrested. The African American community united to form the Albany Movement. In December, black and white “freedom riders” arrived in Albany to support the Albany Movement. They were arrested at the Central Railway Terminal. The next day a group of students led a march to the train station. The students were arrested and jailed while the national news watched.

What was the result of the Albany Movement?

At one point during the months of protest in Albany, five hundred people were either in jail or out on bond. Civil rights leaders were arrested included Dr. King and Reverend Ralph Abernathy. Before the year’s end, a biracial committee was formed to study concerns of the African American community in Albany. The bus and train stations were not de-segregated because of the Albany movement, but it did start a talk between the Black and White communities of Albany.