Henderson Lovelace Lanham (September 14, 1888 – November 10, 1957) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and lawyer. Lanham was born in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He attended the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

where he was a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American fraternal literary societies. The fraternity has 244 active (undergraduate) chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has initiated more t ...

fraternity and the

Phi Kappa Literary Society The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Founded in 1820, the society continues to meet every academic ...

. Lanham graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in 1910 and Bachelor of Law degree with honors in 1911. He also graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1912. Lanham served as the chairman of the board of education in Rome in 1918 and 1919. In 1929, he was elected to the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. ...

and served until 1933. Lanham was re-elected to that body in 1937 and served until 1940. He was elected as the solicitor general of Rome Judicial Circuit from 1941 to 1946. Later in 1946, Lanham was elected as a Democrat to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, where he served until his death. During a Congressional hearing in 1947, Lanham was one of several members of Congress to express concern about the newfound

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

. He asked, "Do you feel there is any danger of the Central Intelligence Agency Division becoming a

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

, or anything of that sort?" A staunch segregationist, in 1956, Lanham signed "The Southern Manifesto." He was cited in the UN petition ''

We Charge Genocide ''We Charge Genocide'' is a paper accusing the United States government of genocide based on the UN Genocide Convention. This paper was written by the Civil Rights Congress (CRC) and presented to the United Nations at meetings in Paris in Decem ...

: The Crime of Government Against the Negro People'' as an example of

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

in government, mocking

William L. Patterson William Lorenzo Patterson (August 27, 1891 – March 5, 1980) was an African-American leader in the Communist Party USA and head of the International Labor Defense, a group that offered legal representation to communists, trade unionists, and ...

, whom he referred to as "a God-damned black son-of-bitch", in Congress and stating "We gotta keep the black apes down." During the hearing, Patterson and Lanham had gotten into a heated exchange:

Patterson: I was fighting for the life of a Negro in Georgia, nine of whom were lynched. Georgia State tried to lynch the Scottsboro Boys— Lanham: That statement is absolutely false. The state of Georgia has never tried to lynch any Negro. Patterson: The state of Georgia has lynched—how many? And it is known all over this country, and not only known in this country but all over the world. Lanham: Let's get this straight. You said the State of Georgia had attempted to lynch nine— nother Congressman briefly spoke�� and there is no excuse for any of them. Patterson: I accept the correction. Lanham: I don't speak in defense of any lynching in Georgia of either black or white. But when you say the State of Georgia has attempted to lynch anybody, then you simply lie. Patterson: Your language— Lanham: That is the only language that fits it, because I have been a prosecuting attorney in the State of Georgia, and if there is any State in the Union where a Negro gets a fair deal in court, it is in the state of Georgia and any statement to the contrary is absolutely false. Patterson: The State of Georgia is a State where the black man has no rights comparing to— Lanham: That is another lie. Patterson: Yours is a lie, too.

At this, Lanham flew into a rage, rose from his seat, screamed "You black son of a bitch", and attempted to lunge at Patterson. He was held back by two Capitol Police officers. During a subsequent hearing on contempt of Congress charges, which he had pressed against Patterson, Lanham admitted to becoming violent. He told the judge he "should have used the word Communist instead of black." In 1951, a racially mixed jury deadlocked on Patterson. In 1952, a second jury acquitted Patterson outright. Lanham was killed in an automobile accident in 1957 in Rome. His car was struck by a train. He was buried in

Myrtle Hill Cemetery Myrtle Hill Cemetery is the second oldest cemetery in the city of Rome, Georgia. The cemetery is at the confluence of the Etowah River and Oostanaula River and to the south of downtown Rome across the South Broad Street bridge. Geography Thre ...

in that same city.

References

*
''History of the University of Georgia'', Thomas Walter Reed, Imprint: Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia, ca. 1949 pp.2247,2264
1888 births 1957 deaths American segregationists Harvard University alumni Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives University of Georgia alumni Railway accident deaths in the United States Road incident deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanham, Henderson Lovelace

See also

References