Albany Movement - What Happened

What Happened

Charles Sherod had taken on the repressive regime in Southwest Georgia. (Riches 1997:67) Sherod had taken it upon himself to organize a rally with African Americans and students of the Albany State College in Albany Georgia.(Riches 2004:67) In his attempts to bypass the older black leaders of the NAACP and remove the SNCC organizers at the university.(Riches 2004:67)Sherod had failed in his attempts despite the support he had gained from Martin Luther King, Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy Ralph Abernathy. Although the rallies themselves had failed, the Albany movement provided insight on the media and its relation with white supremacists. The Albany police chief, Laurie Pritchett had reported to the media that he had defeated nonviolent actions with nonviolence and in return the press provided Pritchett with details of what was planned and who the targets were during the Albany movement, which then caused great distrust among the students and the press. Although publicity was needed, the distrust everyone who was involved in the rallies felt towards the media could not go unheard. Journalists and the media were banned from mass meetings and conferences.(Riches 2004:68)