JIM CROW ERA
A FEW INDIVIDUALS
Subtitle
John Burns (1868-1936)
 important educator, civil rights leader, and social reformer in Atlanta.
 became the first black president of both Morehouse and Atlanta University,
*remained a leading figure in the early civil rights era
 actively involved in NAACP and the southern-based Commission on Interracial
Cooperation.
 born in Augusta to a Scottish father and black mother.
 interracial marriage was illegal in Georgia, but lived openly as a married couple until
his father’s death in 1876.
 In Atlanta, Hope befriended other civil rights leaders including W.E.B. DuBois and
Booker T. Washington. extremely active in the community
 Urban League and the YMCA.
Lugenia Burns Hope (1871-1947)
 John Hope’s wife and a community organizer, reformer, and social activist.
 Born in St. Louis, her family moved to Chicago in the 1880s. In Chicago, Hope
began her career in social work and activism.
 Moved to Atlanta after marrying John Hope
 Established the Neighborhood Union, which fought for better conditions in AfricanAmerican schools and developed health education campaigns.
 Worked with the YWCA.
 In 1927, appointed to the Colored Advisory Commission to work with flood victims in
the South,
 In 1932 became the first vice-president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP.
Alonzo Herndon Alonzo Herndon’s (1858-1927)
 Life is a true “rags to riches story.”
 Born to a slave mother and white father in Social Circle, Georgia.
 Found work as share croppers to survive.
 An entrepreneur from an early age, Herndon helped support his family by selling
peanuts and molasses,
 In 1878, he left Social Circle with $11 dollars. He ended up in the city of Senioa, where
he learned the barbering trade.
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)
 Born a slave in Virginia.
 An educator, author, orator, and political activist.
 After emancipation, Washington moved to West Virginia
 Worked in several manual labor jobs & attended colleges
 After Graduation, became the head the Tuskegee Institution in Alabama.
 Built several technical schools for African-Americans - Supported by
businessmen and politicians
 A leader in the African-American community
 Promoted the idea that the best approach for African-Americans to gain a
foothold in white society was through hard work, education, and economic
accomplishments, before gaining full civil rights.
Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)
Criticized by individuals and groups such as W.E.B. Dubois and
the NAACP for these ideals
Secretly provided financial support for many civil rights cases
actively perusing voting and other rights for blacks.
Most well known for his Atlanta Compromise Speech which he
presented at the International Cotton Exposition of 1895.
Brought his ideas of cooperation and the “going slow” approach
to the forefront of the early civil rights movement.
Approach was tarnished by the numerous lynchings and the
1906 Atlanta Race Riot
Many blacks and whites continued to support Washington and
his ideals until his death in 1915.
W.E.B. DuBois (1968-1963)
Supported many of Washington’s beliefs early in his career.
However, after the actions of the southern states to prevent African-American civil rights along with events such as
the Atlanta Race Riot, DuBois was determine to fight for immediate social and political rights of African-Americans.
Born in Massachusetts.
Had a relatively happy and uneventful childhood.
Successful in school and attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.
Exposed to the harsh realities of racial segregation and Jim Crow laws for the first time.
Under this experience, he began to form his thoughts about combating these laws.
At Fisk, Dubois developed the concept of “the talented tenth” or an elite group of college educated AfricanAmericans who would use their talents and position to help eradicate segregation in American society.
Began two literary magazines
Helped create the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1906.
Dubois time in Atlanta during the New South period and later in the 1930s and 40s shape his views about civil
rights. Seeing the impact of Jim Crow on the south through the eyes of a professor, while living through these laws
as a black man, DuBois became an important figure in the early Civil Rights Movement. His organization, the
NAACP, and his ideals for immediate social and political rights for all African-Americans, led to the successes of
the Modern Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.