Atlanta Student Movement

1960-1965

In early February 1960, Morehouse College students Lonnie King, Julian Bond, Joseph Pierce and other students met here at the site of the former Yates & Milton Drug Store - an informal gathering place for students of the Atlanta University Center. Inspired by a student sit-in at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, the three young men laid the groundwork for what would become a seminal phase in the Civil Rights Movement. The Atlanta University Center, comprised of six historically black institutions of higher learning - Atlanta University, Clark College, Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse College, Morris Brown College, and Spelman College - was philosophically committed to the principles of non-violent disobedience as taught by Ghandi and M.L. King Jr. Students conducted marches, picketing, and sit-ins that resulted in the desegregation of public and private facilities which had denied service or access to people of color. These included restaurants, businesses, schools, housing and hospitals. Thanks to the Atlanta Student Movement, the city began to live up to its slogan, "A city too busy to hate."

COMMISSION TO HONOR AN APPEAL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS and THE ATLANTA STUDENT MOVEMENT

• Charles Black speaks of the founding of the Atlanta Student Movement.
• Wylma Long Blanding tells why she joined the Atlanta Student Movement.
• The Honorable Julian Bond’s speech on the impact of the Atlanta Student Movement at the renaming of the street to the Atlanta Student Movement Boulevard. 
• The Honorable Carolyn Long Banks recalls the formation of the Atlanta Student Movement
• Herschelle Challenor recalls events leading to the founding of the Atlanta Student Movement.
• The Honorable Brenda Hill Cole speaks of her role in the Atlanta Student Movement. 
• Constance Curry tells how she became involved in the Atlanta Student Movement. 
• Morris Dillard recalls the founding of the Atlanta Student Movement. 
• James Felder looks back on the beginnings of the Atlanta Student Movement. 
• Lonnie King Jr. tells the story of organizing the Atlanta Student Movement. 
• Reverend Otis Moss Jr. speaks of the role of faith in sustaining the Atlanta Student Movement during trying times.
• Dr. Roslyn Pope recalls how the Atlanta Student Movement allowed her to challenge segregation. 
• Lydia Tucker Arnold tells her role in the Atlanta Student Movement.