Changes

Atlanta adjusted smoothly to the end of segregation in 1965 with one major exception. Maddox worked tirelessly to galvanize Atlanta's white-supremacist population against integration in the 1960s. Even though the city ultimately rejected segregation to foster rapid economic growth, Maddox gained statewide support and was eventually elected governor of Georgia.<ref> Justin Nystrom, "Segregation's Last Stand: Lester Maddox and the Transformation of Atlanta" ''Atlanta History'' 2001 45(2): 34-51. 0896-3975 </ref>

Atlanta adjusted smoothly to the end of segregation in 1965 with one major exception. Maddox worked tirelessly to galvanize Atlanta's white-supremacist population against integration in the 1960s. Even though the city ultimately rejected segregation to foster rapid economic growth, Maddox gained statewide support and was eventually elected governor of Georgia.<ref> Justin Nystrom, "Segregation's Last Stand: Lester Maddox and the Transformation of Atlanta" ''Atlanta History'' 2001 45(2): 34-51. 0896-3975 </ref>

Atlanta elected its first black mayor in 1973. Maynard Jackson, unlike his main opponent Sam Massell, tried to avoid racial overtones in his campaign and concentrated instead on people-oriented issues such as crime, housing, and unemployment.  

Atlanta elected its first black mayor in 1973. Maynard Jackson (1938- ), unlike his main opponent Mayor Sam Massell, Jackson avoided racial overtones in his campaign and concentrated instead on issues such as crime, housing, and unemployment. Jackson served two terms and worked to break down discriminatory barriers in the city's hiring policies and in securing city contracts. He created Atlanta's first minority business program, opening opportunities for minorities and women in major city contracts and in administrative posts in the city government. He maintained links to the city's traditional white business elite, but also opened the lines of communication between his office and Atlanta's inner city neighborhoods, creating a monthly "People's Day," in which he visited neighborhoods to listen to residents' concerns and complaints.

 

====Public schools====

====Public schools====

Atlanta's public schools desegregated very slowly in the years following the 1954 Supreme Court decision [[Brown v. Board of Education]]. Not until 1961 was any formal plan implemented in Atlanta. Beginning with only a few grades, community leaders hoped that calm would prevail. Governor S. Ernest Vandiver, who had promised during his campaign to preserve segregation forever, attempted to block complete compliance by introducing a "save our schools" package in the legislature. The governor planned to withhold funds from the public schools and provide money to private, segregated institutions. The governor's plans were resisted by the business community, black groups, and, subsequently, the Georgia legislature. Nonetheless, pupil placement procedures and obstacles to school transfers continued to perpetuate racial separation in Atlanta's schools. New federal court orders in the early 1970s led to white flight from the city and little positive response from the Atlanta Board of Education. Ultimately, black leaders conceded the futility of total desegregation (since there were not enough whites "to go around"). In the compromise plan of 1973 African Americans obtained administrative control of the now largely black school system.<ref>Alton  Hornsby,  Jr., "Black Public Education in Atlanta, Georgia, 1954-1973: From Segregation to Segregation." ''Journal of Negro History'' 1991 76(1-4): 21-47. 0022-2992 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2717407  in JSTOR]</ref>  

Atlanta's public schools desegregated very slowly in the years following the 1954 Supreme Court decision [[Brown v. Board of Education]]. Not until 1961 was any formal plan implemented in Atlanta. Beginning with only a few grades, community leaders hoped that calm would prevail. Governor S. Ernest Vandiver, who had promised during his campaign to preserve segregation forever, attempted to block complete compliance by introducing a "save our schools" package in the legislature. The governor planned to withhold funds from the public schools and provide money to private, segregated institutions. The governor's plans were resisted by the business community, black groups, and, subsequently, the Georgia legislature. Nonetheless, pupil placement procedures and obstacles to school transfers continued to perpetuate racial separation in Atlanta's schools. New federal court orders in the early 1970s led to white flight from the city and little positive response from the Atlanta Board of Education. Ultimately, black leaders conceded the futility of total desegregation (since there were not enough whites "to go around"). In the compromise plan of 1973 African Americans obtained administrative control of the now largely black school system.<ref>Alton  Hornsby,  Jr., "Black Public Education in Atlanta, Georgia, 1954-1973: From Segregation to Segregation." ''Journal of Negro History'' 1991 76(1-4): 21-47. 0022-2992 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2717407  in JSTOR]</ref>