Allie Edward Stakes Stephens, usually known as "A. E. S." or "Gi" Stephens (November 4, 1900 – June 9, 1973), was a Virginia lawyer and Democratic Party politician who served in both houses of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

and as the 27th

lieutenant governor of Virginia The lieutenant governor of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general. The office is currently held by Winsome Earle S ...

from 1952 to 1962. His state political career ended with a loss in the Democratic primary for Governor in 1961, after he and Governor

J. Lindsay Almond James Lindsay Almond Jr. (June 15, 1898 – April 14, 1986) was an American lawyer, state and federal judge and Democratic party politician. His political offices included as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Virginia's 6th congre ...

broke with the

Byrd Organization The Byrd machine, or Byrd organization, was a political machine of the Democratic Party led by former Governor and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966) that dominated Virginia politics for much of the 20th century. From the 1890s until the l ...

, which wanted to continue its policy of

massive resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

of Virginia's schools after both the Virginia Supreme Court and a 3-judge federal panel ruled most elements unconstitutional in 1959.

Early and family life

Born on November 4, 1900, in

Wicomico Church, Virginia Wicomico Church is an unincorporated community in Northumberland County, in the U.S. state of Virginia. Shalango was listed on the National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States fe ...

, Gi was the fourth son of J.W.G. Stephens (a former cowboy turned general merchandise store owner) and Allie Tyson Beane Stephens. He attended local public schools in Northumberland County through high school. Beginning in 1919, Stevens attended the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...

where he was a star baseball pitcher. There he gained the nickname "Gi" meaning "giraffe" for his lanky physique. He continued on to graduate with both an undergraduate and a law degree in 1923, declining an offer to play for the Washington Senators farm system. He married Anna Spratley Delk (1903–2001) of Smithfield in 1928, and they had three children (and many grandchildren) who survived their parents.

Career

Upon admission to the Virginia bar, Stephens began a private legal practice in

Isle of Wight County, Virginia Isle of Wight County is a county located in the Hampton Roads region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It was named after the Isle of Wight, England, south of the Solent, from where many of its early colonists had come. As of the 2020 census, th ...

. He declined to run against the local commonwealth's attorney in 1927, having witnessed that man successfully transport an accused African-American prisoner to the Petersburg jail rather than accede to a local lynch mob. Stephens did, however, become active in politics, and later the

. He was elected the Isle of Wight's delegate to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

in 1929 and served for 12 years in that part-time position. In 1940, Stephens successfully ran for Senate District 5, then encompassing

Nansemond The Nansemond are the indigenous people of the Nansemond River, a 20-mile long tributary of the James River in Virginia. Nansemond people lived in settlements on both sides of the Nansemond River where they fished (with the name "Nansemond" meanin ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, and

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

. His main legislative accomplishments included establishing the Hampton Roads Sanitation Commission, the Denny Commission (which improved public education) and assisting the local seafood industry.

Lieutenant Governor

After the unexpected death of lieutenant governor Lewis Preston Collins II, Stephens ran in the 3-candidate Democratic primary and won in the special election as well. He took office on December 2, 1952, and won reelection in 1953 and 1957. During the

Massive Resistance Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his brother-in-law James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and p ...

crisis, after both the

Virginia Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Virginia is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It primarily hears direct appeals in civil cases from the trial-level city and county circuit courts, as well as the criminal law, family law and administrative ...

and a 3-judge federal panel held most elements of the Stanley Plan unconstitutional, Stephens and Governor

realized further active resistance was futile, and hurt Virginia businesses as well as citizens. In April 1959, Stephens presided over the State Senate during a parliamentary maneuver that helped State Senators

Mosby Perrow Jr. Mosby Garland Perrow, Jr. (born March 5, 1909 – May 31, 1973) was a Virginia lawyer and state senator representing Lynchburg, Virginia . A champion of Virginia's public schools, Perrow became a key figure in Virginia's abandonment of " Massiv ...

Armistead Boothe Armistead Lloyd Boothe (September 23, 1907 – February 14, 1990) was a Virginia Democratic legislator representing Alexandria, Virginia: first as a delegate in the Virginia General Assembly and later as a State Senator from the newly create ...

and Stuart B. Carter (among others) narrowly secure passage of bills which allowed localities to determine whether to desegregate their schools. Stephens resigned in December 1960 to run for governor (following Almond's early declaration example). However, the Byrd Organization slated

Albertis Harrison Albertis Sydney Harrison Jr. (January 11, 1907 – January 23, 1995) was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party associated with Virginia's Byrd Organization, he was the List of Governo ...

(the attorney general who had supported segregation and litigation against the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

) as their candidate.

1961 election

Stephens lost in the 1961 Democratic primary (199,519 to 152,639), and Byrd loyalists

Mills Godwin Mills Edwin Godwin Jr. (November 19, 1914January 30, 1999) was an American politician who was the 60th and 62nd governor of Virginia for two non-consecutive terms, from 1966 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1978. In his first term, he was a member of ...

defeated moderate Armistead Boothe for lieutenant Governor and

Robert Young Button Robert Young Button (November 2, 1899 – September 1, 1977) served two terms as Attorney General of Virginia, as well as a fifteen years as Virginia State Senator. Button rose through the ranks of the Byrd Organization and became one of its lea ...

defeated professor T. Munford Boyd for attorney general. However, the machine's vote totals were lower than earlier decades. Harrison defeated Republican H. Clyde Pearson in November, as the Byrd slate won one of its last victories as Virginia's demographics changed.\

Later life

Stephens never again ran for statewide office, though he served as the town attorney for Smithfield until December, 1971, and remained active in the town's Christ Episcopal Church. He retained political influence in Virginia, even as the Byrd organization declined. Stephens helped restore and preserve the commonwealth's oldest Episcopal church, St. Luke's Church, and was a member of

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia with ...

's Board of Visitors until 1972.

Death and legacy

Stephens died after a short illness at Riverside Hospital in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

. He and Anna are buried in the cemetery of the historic St. Luke's Church at Smithfield that they helped preserve. Old Dominion University has his papers from 1949–1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Allie Edward Stakes 1900 births 1973 deaths Lieutenant Governors of Virginia People from Northumberland County, Virginia People from Smithfield, Virginia William & Mary Tribe baseball players Democratic Party Virginia state senators 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers