Jesse Benjamin Stoner Jr. (April 13, 1924 – April 23, 2005) was an American lawyer,
white supremacist
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 ...
,
neo-nazi,
segregationist
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...
politician, and a
domestic terrorist
Domestic terrorism or homegrown terrorism is a form of terrorism in which victims "within a country are targeted by a perpetrator with the same citizenship" as the victims.Gary M. Jackson, ''Predicting Malicious Behavior: Tools and Techniques ...
who perpetrated the 1958 bombing of the
Bethel Baptist Church in
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
, but was not convicted for the bombing of the church until 1980.
He was a founder and the long-time chairman of the
National States' Rights Party
The National States' Rights Party was a white supremacist political party that briefly played a minor role in the politics of the United States.
Foundation
Founded in 1958 in Knoxville, Tennessee, by Edward Reed Fields, a 26-year-old chiropractor ...
as well as the publisher of its newsletter, ''The Thunderbolt''. Stoner campaigned for several political offices as a
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
in order to promote his
white supremacist
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 ...
agenda. He also founded his own
white supremacist
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 ...
party.
Early life
Stoner's family ran a sight-seeing company on
Lookout Mountain, Georgia
Lookout Mountain is a city entirely within Walker County, Georgia, United States. Bordering its sister town of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Lookout Mountain is part of the Chattanooga metropolitan statistical area. The population was 1,641 at t ...
, as well as in nearby
Chattanooga. At age two, he contracted childhood
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
, which impaired one of his legs and resulted in a lifelong limp. His father Jesse Benjamin Stoner Sr., died when he was five; his mother Minnie died when he was 17.
Career
Stoner admired
segregationist
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...
politician
Theodore G. Bilbo. He became active in white supremacist groups and traveled to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
to support Bilbo.
Stoner rechartered a chapter of the
Ku Klux Klan in
Chattanooga when he was 18 years old.
[ Stoner once said that "being a ]Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
houldbe a crime punishable by death." He ran the National States' Rights Party, founded by Edward Reed Fields, an associate of Stoner's, which attracted such fringe political figures as Addison Roswell Thompson
Addison may refer to:
Places Canada
* Addison, Ontario
United States
* Addison, Alabama
*Addison, Illinois
*Addison Street in Chicago, Illinois which runs by Wrigley Field
* Addison, Kentucky
*Addison, Maine
*Addison, Michigan
*Addison, New York ...
, a perennial Democratic candidate for governor of Louisiana and a mayor of New Orleans
The post of Mayor of the City of New Orleans (french: Maire de La Nouvelle-Orléans) has been held by the following individuals since New Orleans came under American administration following the Louisiana Purchase — the acquisition by the U.S. ...
.
Stoner received a law degree from Atlanta Law School in 1952. He served as the attorney for James Earl Ray
James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive convicted for assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. After this Ray was on the run and was cap ...
, the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) suspected that Stoner was also involved in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. as well as bombings of several synagogues and black churches during the 1950s and 1960s, such as the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing
The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing was a white supremacist terrorist bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday, September 15, 1963. Four members of a local Ku Klux Klan chapter planted 19 sticks of dynami ...
.
He lived at 591 Cherokee Street in "Old" Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth larges ...
.
As a "roving white supremacist," Stoner, along with Connie Lynch
Connie is a given name. It is often a pet form (hypocorism) of Concetta, Constance, Cornelia, or Cornelius.
Given name or nickname
Women
* Connie Achurra, Chilean chef
* Connie Binsfeld (1924–2014), American politician
* Connie Booth ...
, was present in Bogalusa, Louisiana
Bogalusa is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,232 at the 2010 census. In th2020 censusthe city, town, place equivalent reported a population of 10,659. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropoli ...
in 1965, performing the same road show to inflame white mobs in St. Augustine during the summer of 1964. Standing on a platform in Bogalusa, Stoner said:
The nigger
In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...
is not a human being. He is somewhere between the white man
White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view.
Description of populations as ...
and the ape
Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister g ...
. We don't believe in tolerance. We don't believe in getting along with our enemy, and the nigger is our enemy. Every time a nigger gets a job, that's just one more job that you can't have. You notice the niggers are singing 'I Love Everybody.' They sure do love everybody, and especially our white women. What the nigger really wants is our white women.
Stoner ran for governor of Georgia in 1970. During the campaign, where he called himself the "candidate of love," he described Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
as "too moderate," described black people as an extension of the ape family, and described Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
as "vipers
The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs th ...
of Hell."[ The primary was won by ]civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
supporter, and future President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
, Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
. Stoner then ran for the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
in 1972, finishing fifth in the Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
primary with just over 40,000 votes. The nomination and the election both went to Sam Nunn
Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr. (born September 8, 1938) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Georgia (1972–1997) as a member of the Democratic Party.
After leaving Congress, Nunn co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initia ...
.
During his Senate campaign, the Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(FCC) ruled that television stations had to play his ads because of the fairness doctrine
The fairness doctrine of the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), introduced in 1949, was a policy that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a mann ...
. His television ads included the statement, "You can't have law and order and niggers
In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in ca ...
." Stoner also ran for lieutenant governor in 1974 and he also ran for a seat in the US Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and po ...
in 1980. His best showing was 73,000 votes (10%) in his campaign for lieutenant governor in 1974, when he sought to succeed Lester G. Maddox
Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. A populist Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationi ...
in Georgia's second- highest constitutional office. That year, Maddox lost the gubernatorial nomination to former legislator George D. Busbee.
In his 1974 campaign for lieutenant governor, Stoner placed signs on the Macon Transit Company buses, which Mayor Ronnie Thompson ordered the removal of. Stoner promptly went to federal court to secure the return of his paid signs under his First Amendment
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
protection. He urged, tongue-in-cheek, Georgia blacks to support his nemesis, Thompson, for governor. Stoner polled more votes for lieutenant governor than were cast for all four candidates in the Republican gubernatorial primary, which Thompson had only barely won.
In 1978, Stoner ran in the Democratic gubernatorial primary and polled 37,654 votes (5.4℅).
Bethel Baptist Church bombing
Stoner was a suspect in the 1958 bombing of the Bethel Baptist Church, but he was not indicted for it until 1977. In 1980, A mostly white jury found him guilty and sentenced him to ten years in prison. Prosecutors suspected that Stoner perpetrated as many as a dozen other bombings[ attributed to the "Confederate Underground"; these included the attempted bombing of Temple Beth-El in ]Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
(1957), and the bombings or attempted bombing of Temple Emanuel in Gastonia, North Carolina
Gastonia is the largest city in and county seat of Gaston County, North Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest satellite city of the Charlotte area, behind Concord. The population was 80,411 at the 2020 census, up from 71,741 in 20 ...
(1958), the Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
Jewish Community Center (1958), Temple Beth El in Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
(1958), the Jacksonville Jewish Center and a black elementary school (1958), Temple Beth-El in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
(1958), and The Temple in Atlanta (1958), and Congregation Anshai Emeth in Peoria, Illinois (1958). He was not prosecuted for any of those cases.[
After he was convicted, Stoner appealed his conviction for three years, and when his appeals ran out, he lived in hiding as a fugitive for four months. In 1984, he was permanently removed from the roster of lawyers who may appear before the United States Supreme Court. Stoner was released from prison for good behavior in 1986, having served years of his sentence.][ In 1990, Stoner ran for lieutenant governor again.]
Later life
After his release from prison and until his death at the age of 81, Stoner lived at a nursing home
A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...
in northwest Georgia, still defending his segregationist views. In one of his last interviews he stated, "A person isn't supposed to apologize for being right." His left side was partially paralyzed as the result of a stroke.[ Stoner is buried at Forest Hills Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
]
Works
Published works
*
*
Letters
Ephemeral materials, 198—by J B Stoner; Crusade Against Corruption. Wilcox Collection of Contemporary Political Movements, University of Kansas.
Audiovisual recordings
*
*
*Stoner, J.B. & Erwin Saul. Interview with Sarah Kessler. ''J.B. Stoner and Erwin Saul comment on recent violence by the National States' Rights Party and similar organizations.'' Date unknown. .
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoner, J.B.
1924 births
2005 deaths
1960 United States vice-presidential candidates
1964 United States vice-presidential candidates
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century far-right politicians in the United States
American neo-fascists
Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats
Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers
Ku Klux Klan members
National States' Rights Party politicians
Neo-Nazi politicians in the United States
People convicted on terrorism charges
People from Walker County, Georgia
Neo-fascist terrorism
Neo-fascist politicians
Activists from Georgia (U.S. state)