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Pickrick Project

An Augmented Reality Experience

  • The Pickrick Project
    • Articles
    • Gateway Cafeteria Opens
    • Privacy Policy
  • Timeline
    • Civil Rights Act Signed
    • Contempt Hearing Set for Maddox Pickrick Closure Amidst Government Pressure and Integration Efforts
    • FBI Investigates Maddox for Assault
    • Maddox Sells Segregation: Pickrick Continues Non-Food Business Ventures
    • Constance Baker Motley Argues the Case Against the Pickrick and Maddox 
    • Heart of Atlanta Motel Incident
    • Integration Resistance at Pickrick
    • Court Upholds Civil Rights Act 
    • NAACP Files Suit Against Pickrick 
    • Leb’s Restaurant Protests
    • Lester Maddox’s Court Hearing
    • Lester Maddox’s Defiance of Civil Rights Law and Gun Charge Hearing
    • Maddox Found Non-Compliant
    • Maddox’s Segregationist Rally
    • Pickrick Protest
    • Pickrick Renamed as the Lester Maddox Cafeteria
    • Pickrick Segregation
    • Pickrick Showdown
    • RFK Seeks Contempt Charges Against Maddox
    • US Supreme Court Affirms Civil Rights Act in Heart of Atlanta Cases
  • People
    • Ministers
      • Albert Dunn
      • Albert Sampson
      • Charles Wells Sr.
      • George Willis III
      • Woodrow T. Lewis

Timeline

March 1960

An Appeal to Human Rights

In March of 1960, Atlanta newspapers released the now-famous Civil Rights manifesto “An Appeal for Human Rights” as full-page advertisements, announcing the formation of the Atlanta Students Movement.

1961

The ASM and ITC

The Atlanta Students Movement (ASM) , formed by students from 6 HBCUs, carries out non-violent marches, picketing, and sit-ins of segregated public facilities.

Students from the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) were core to the ASM, specifically to the Pickrick restaurant protests.

1961

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Allen v. Maddox: The Mayoral Election

In the 1961 Atlanta Mayoral election Ivan Allen Jr., businessman and Georgia Tech graduate, crushingly defeats the segregationist candidate Lester Maddox, owner of the Pickrick Restaurant.

May 1963

First Pickrick Sit-In Attempt

On May 18, 1963 four Black and three white demonstrators representing a group called the Committee on Appeal for Human Rights attempt to take seats at the Pickrick. The owner and his Black employees usher them out, informing them that the restaurant’s minority workers would lose their jobs if the Pickrick ever integrated.

July 1963

Sit-ins and Protests at Leb’s

On January 25 – 27, 1964, sit-ins and protests occur at Leb’s Restaurant in Atlanta, triggering clashes between demonstrators, police, and white spectators. The protests result in injuries, arrests, and property damage.

April 1964

Sit-ins and Protests at Pickrick

Similar attempts at integration are met with resistance at the Pickrick restaurant, owned by Lester Maddox. Black and White integration activists are turned away.

July 2, 1964

Civil Rights of 1964 Act Signed

On this day, Lyndon B Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which mandated that any business open to the public cannot discriminate by race.

July 3, 1964

Peaceful Ministers Met with Weapons at Pickrick

George Willis, (driver), Albert Dunn (passenger), and Woodrow T. Lewis (backseat) , ministry students at ITC, arrive at the Pickrick expecting to be admitted in compliance with the new Civil Rights Act. Lester Maddox, greets then pistol in hand, leading a threatening mob armed with pick axe handles. They are forced to leave without entering the restaurant. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/pickrick-showdown/

July 4, 1964

Maddox’s Segregationist Rally

Maddox organizes a segregationist rally in a city park attended by over 11,000 people, including prominent segregationist figures such as Ross Barnett and George Wallace. Black protesters who attend the rally are attacked by white participants. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/maddoxs-segregationist-rally/

July 8, 1964

Denied Entry at Heart of Atlanta Motel

Charles Wells and Albert Sampson are refused accommodation at Moreton Rolleston’s Heart of Atlanta Motel. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/heart-of-atlanta-motel-incident/

July 8, 1964

FBI Investigates Maddox for Assault

Attorney Burke Marshall, Kennedy’s Assistant Attorney, writes a memo to the FBI director’s office, requesting a full-scale inquiry into Maddox’s actions. The FBI interviews the ministry students, witnesses, and obtains photographic evidence. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/fbi-investigates-maddox-for-assault/

July 9, 1964

NAACP Files Suit Against Pickrick 

The ministry students, represented by attorneys William Alexander and Constance Baker Motley of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund file a lawsuit against the Pickrick and Lester Maddox, citing violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuit alleges racial discriminaton and seeks a court order to bar the restaurant from refusing service based on race. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/lawsuit-against-pickrick/

July 10, 1964

Lester Maddox’s Court Hearing on Gun Charge

Lester Maddox is called to a court hearing over the alleged misdemeanor of brandishing a gun on July 3 and directly threatening Willis and Dunn. He denies pointing a gun at anyone but asserts his right to defend his property. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/lester-maddoxs-court-hearing/

July 17, 1964

Constance Baker Motley Argues the Case Against the Pickrick and Maddox

A three-panel team of federal judges hears both the Heart of Atlanta and Pickrick cases. They order Maddox and Rolleston to turn over all relevant documents to determine if their businesses fall under the Commerce Clause and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Witnesses testify, including a peaceful activist from New Jersey, Sheila Agnes Hatcher who was denied entry to the Pickrick and threatened by Maddox on July 6. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/federal-judges-hear-heart-of-atlanta-and-pickrick-cases/

July 22, 1964 

Maddox Found Non-Compliant

The court directly orders Maddox to comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/maddox-found-non-compliant/(opens in a new tab)

August 10, 1964

Court Upholds Civil Rights Act

Justice Hugo Black of the US Supreme Court rejects Rolleston’s and Maddox’s requests to stay the lower court’s ruling. He affirms the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, stating that Congress properly exercised its power under the Commerce Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment. Black emphasizes the importance of upholding the law and expresses readiness for the full court to consider the core constitutional questions raised by the legal challenges. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/justice-hugo-black-upholds-civil-rights-act/

August 11, 1964

Deadline for Pickrick Compliance

Ministers Dunn, Sampson, and Wells and fellow activist Barbara Pace Suarez to Pickrick to test the Court ruling. They are met by pistol-carrying Maddox and a mob of 200 supporters. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/deadline-for-pickrick-compliance/

August 12, 1964

RFK Seeks Contempt Charges Against Maddox

Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy files a motion seeking a court order holding Maddox in contempt of court for continuing to disobey the law by refusing entry to the ministers. The government and ministers’ lawyers file new legal documents in response to Maddox’s blockade on August 11, as additional evidence of his contempt of court. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/rfk-seeks-contempt-charges-against-maddox/

August 12, 1964

Contempt Hearing Set for Maddox Pickrick ClosureContempt Hearing Set for Maddox Pickrick Closure

A federal judge sets a hearing for one week later to determine whether Maddox is in contempt of court. The court serves the papers on Maddox, requiring him to show cause why he shouldn’t be held in contempt. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/contempt-hearing-set-for-maddox-pickrick-closure-amidst-government-pressure-and-integration-efforts/

August 13, 1964

Pickrick Restaurant Closes

In response to new contempt order, Maddox closes the Pickrick.

September 4, 1964

Maddox Sells Segregation

Since the the Court has explicitly barred Maddox from refusing restaurant service on the basis of race, he begins selling axe handles, segregationist pamphlets, and a fizzy drink named “Gold Water,” in support of Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign against Lyndon Johnson. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/federal-court-bars-maddox-from-racial-discrimination-pickrick-continues-non-food-business-ventures/

September 26, 1964

Pickrick Reopens as Lester Maddox Cafeteria  

Maddox attempts to circumvent the court order by changing the name of the restaurant. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/pickrick-renamed-as-the-lester-maddox-cafeteria/

September 26-28, 1964

Ministers Challenge Re-opened Restaurant

Dunn, Lewis, Wells, and Willis return to challenge the re-named Lester Maddox Restaurant to comply with the Civil Rights Act. They are again violently repelled, and again file affidavits documenting Maddox’s flaunting of the Civil RIghts Act. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/wells-and-willis-file-affidavits-reenter-pickrick-in-continued-fight-for-desegregation/

December 14, 1964

US Supreme Court Affirms Civil Rights Act in Heart of Atlanta Case

US Supreme Court rules affirming Title II of the Civil Rights Act as legally sound, ruling against Moreton Rolleston and the Heart of Atlanta Motel and in favor of the NAACP and the ministers. The ruling removes any possibility of appeal in the related Pickrick case. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/us-supreme-court-upholds-title-ii-affirms-civil-rights-act-in-heart-of-atlanta-case/

January 29, 1965

Maddox Blocks Entry to Restaurant for the Fourth Time

Wells, Willis, Dunn and Woodrow attempt to enter the restaurant and are met by Maddox who physically pushes them away, denying them entry for the 4th time. The ministers again respond to violent actions and threats with non-violence and appeals to obey the law. They again file affidavits attesting to Maddox’s continued actions in contempt for the law. https://crdl.usg.edu/record/ugabma_wsbn_wsbn47697

February 5 – 6, 1965

Maddox fined $200 a Day 

Judge Hooper finds Maddox in civil contempt of court and fining him $200 a day for continuing to violate one of the core tenets of the civil rights law. Maddox has an easy solution to “purge” the contempt order and the daily fine. He could simply serve all customers including Black patrons. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/maddox-fined-200-a-day/

February 7, 1965

Maddox Closes Pickrick for Good 

Maddox said he’d rather go to jail than serve integrationists. Now he decided he’d rather shutter his business than comply with the law. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/maddox-closes-pickrick-for-good/

January 25, 1966

Constance Baker Motley is Appointed as the First African American Federal Judge

President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed her to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, where she served for over four decades. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/constance-baker-motley-is-appointed-as-the-first-african-american-federal-judge/(opens in a new tab)

January 10, 1967

Lester Maddox Becomes Governor of Georgia

Lester Maddox is sworn in as the Governor of Georgia. https://sites.gatech.edu/pickrickproject/lester-maddox-becomes-governor-of-georgia/

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