The Democratic primary for the1949 Atlanta Board of Aldermen election was held on September 7, 1949 for all members on the Atlanta Board of Aldermen, concurrently with Democratic primaries formayor and school board, and election to the Atlanta City Executive Committee (the municipal chapter of theDemocratic Party).[1][2] Nomination in the primary and the runoff was tantamount to election.
It was the first primary for the board since the 1946 federal court decision inKing v. Chapman, which ended thewhite primary in Georgia and implemented the earlierU.S. Supreme Court decision inSmith v. Allwright, allowing African Americans to vote in primaries and elections for the first time.[3] African Americans had previously been turned away from the polls in the 1945 Democratic municipal primary. TheAtlanta Negro Voters League was formed months before the election to help organize African American first-time voters and endorse candidates for municipal offices.
