Joseph Thomas "Joe" Smitherman (December 24, 1929 – September 11, 2005) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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, a ...

who served more than 35 years as mayor of

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. About ...

. He was in office during the

Selma to Montgomery marches The Selma to Montgomery marches were three protest marches, held in 1965, along the 54-mile (87 km) highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. The marches were organized by nonviolent activists to demonstrate the ...

of the

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 in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

Life and career

Smitherman was born in Alberta, Alabama. His family moved to Selma, where he graduated from high school. Smitherman worked as a

railroad brakeman A brakeman is a rail transport worker whose original job was to assist the braking of a train by applying brakes on individual wagons. The earliest known use of the term to describe this occupation occurred in 1833. The advent of railway air brake ...

before joining the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Upon discharge, he opened a

home appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. Appliances are divided into three ty ...

store. In 1960, he won a seat on the Selma City Council. He was elected mayor in 1964. He resigned in 1979 and was succeeded by Council President Carl Morgan (d. 2006). A year later he returned to office, defeating Mayor Morgan in a three-way race. He served five more terms until the 2000 mayoral elections, when he lost to

James Perkins, Jr. James Perkins Jr. (born 1952 or '53) was the first African American mayor and is the incumbent mayor of Selma, Alabama. He won a run-off in 2000 and served two terms, lost his second bid for reelection in 2008, and won a third non-consecutive term ...

, Selma's first African American mayor, who ran under the slogan "Joe's Got To Go". In his early political career in the 1960s. he was in favor of segregation, and controversially referred to

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 ...

as "Martin Luther

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" in a 1965 televised interview. He explained it as a slip of the tongue. After African Americans gained voting rights, he appointed several African Americans officials to high municipal offices. He gained enough support among the African American population to remain in office. He proudly referred to his significant support in the African American community. At the time of the Selma march he was considered a moderate and not close to Judge James Hare or to Sheriff

Jim Clark James Clark Jr. OBE (4 March 1936 – 7 April 1968) was a British Formula One racing driver from Scotland, who won two World Championships, in 1963 and 1965. A versatile driver, he competed in sports cars, touring cars and in the Indianapol ...

. who ordered and carried out the police operation against marchers. Smitherman ordered city police to use force against the protesters, but the order was disobeyed by the safety director, Wilson Baker. Before the marches, he had rejected the possibility of forming a biracial reconciliation committee.Craig Swanson. 2014. The Selma Campaign. Archway Publishing, pp. 45-48 He later stated that he had always been racially tolerant and that it was only the political climate around him that required him to work against the civil rights movement but that he had really been in favor of change.

Death

At the time of his death, Smitherman was recuperating from hip surgery and had heart problems. The Joseph T. Smitherman Historic Building in Selma is named in his honor.

References

1929 births 2005 deaths 20th-century American politicians Alabama city council members United States Army personnel of the Korean War Mayors of places in Alabama Politicians from Selma, Alabama People from Wilcox County, Alabama {{Civil-rights-movement-stub