Walter Sillers Jr. (April 13, 1888 – September 24, 1966) was an American lawyer, politician, landowner, and

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

. A legislative leader from

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, he served as the 56th Speaker of the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

. An outspoken

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...

, Sillers has been referred to as one of the most racist political leaders in Mississippi's history. He was one of the wealthiest people to have ever served in the Mississippi legislature. He served on the

Mississippi Sovereignty Commission The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission (also called the Sov-Com) was a state agency in Mississippi from 1956 to 1977 tasked with fighting desegregation and controlling civil rights activism. It was overseen by the Governor of Mississippi. T ...

, a state agency established to combat integration and civil rights organizing.

Background

Sillers was born in

Rosedale, Mississippi Rosedale is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,873 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 2,414 in 2000. Located in an agricultural area, the city had a stop on ...

to Walter Sillers, Sr. and

Florence Warfield Sillers Florence Carson Warfield Sillers (September 25, 1869 – April 5, 1958) was an American socialite and historian. A member of an influential American family with colonial ties, Sillers was a prominent figure of Mississippi society and was a foundi ...

. He was a brother of the columnist and segregationist

Florence Sillers Ogden Florence Carson Sillers Ogden (October 2, 1891 – June 23, 1971) was an American newspaper columnist, socialite, conservative political activist, and Racial segregation in the United States, segregationist. She wrote the column ''Dis 'n' Dat'' fo ...

. A member of a prominent

Mississippi Delta The Mississippi Delta, also known as the Yazoo–Mississippi Delta, or simply the Delta, is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi (and portions of Arkansas and Louisiana) that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo ...

family, his paternal grandparents were

planters Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentil ...

and slaveholders in Rosedale. His maternal grandfather was Colonel Elisha Warfield, a planter and

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

military officer who served in the

2nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment The 2nd Arkansas Infantry (June 1, 1861 – May 26, 1865) was an army regiment of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was raised in May 1861 under Colonel Thomas C. Hindman. It served throughout the war in the weste ...

. He was a great-great grandson of

Elisha Warfield Elisha Warfield Jr. (February 5, 1781 – May 15, 1859) was an American physician and a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder whom ''Thoroughbred Heritage'' calls "one of the most important early figures in Kentucky racing and breeding." ...

and a great-grandnephew of

Mary Jane Warfield Clay Mary Jane Warfield Clay (January 20, 1815 – April 29, 1900) was an American socialite, suffragist, abolitionist, and political activist. An early leader in the suffrage movement in Kentucky, she began by forming a suffrage club at her home in 18 ...

. He was a grandnephew of Charles Clark, a Confederate general who served as Governor of Mississippi. Sillers grew up in Rosedale and was raised in the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

. He lived with his family in a large Victorian-style mansion on Levee Street. He was educated at

St. Andrew's-Sewanee School St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School is a private, coeducational, Episcopal, boarding and day college preparatory school serving 216 students in grades six through twelve. It is located in Sewanee, Tennessee on the Cumberland Plateau between Nashville a ...

, an

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

boarding school in

Sewanee, Tennessee Sewanee () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sewanee is best known as the home of ...

. He attended the University of Mississippi and was a member of St. Anthony Hall.

Career

Sillers was a lawyer and a member of the American Bar Association. He served in the

from 1916–1966. He served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

of that body from January 4, 1944 until his death on September 24, 1966. He was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

s of

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

, and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...

. He has been called "one of the most racist political leaders in Mississippi's history." He inherited multiple plantations from his father and held interests in banks, oil companies, and other businesses in Mississippi. Due to his inheritance and business ventures, he was one of the wealthiest people to have ever served in the Mississippi legislature.

Naming and controversy

Given Sillers' preeminence in the state legislature, several public buildings were named for him during his fifty years in office. The fine arts complex was named after him at the

historically black Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

Mississippi Valley State University Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a public historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississippi.Walter Sillers State Office Building, a government high-rise in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

is also named after him.

Delta State University Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi Cleveland is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 11,199 as of the 2020 United States Census. Cleveland has a large commercia ...

's Walter Sillers Coliseum, built in 1960 with proceeds from a sale of bonds which Sillers opposed, has also come under scrutiny, with public calls for the building to be named after

Lusia Harris Lusia Mae Harris (February 10, 1955 – January 18, 2022) was an American professional basketball player. Harris is considered to be one of the pioneers of women's basketball. She played for Delta State University and won three consecutive Ass ...

instead, an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

woman who led the

Delta State Lady Statesmen basketball The Delta State Lady Statesmen basketball team is the women's basketball team that represents Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Gulf South Conference. History The Lady S ...

team to three consecutive national championships and became the first and only woman ever drafted into the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. Sillers himself, an outspoken

, advocated for the removal of the names of white namesakes from public spaces should they become integrated.

Personal

On November 22, 1911, he married Lena Roberts. He was a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and the

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...

. Sillers died at the age of 79 on September 24, 1966. He was buried at Beulah Cemetery in Beulah, Mississippi.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sillers, Walter Jr. 1888 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American landowners Methodists from Mississippi Mississippi lawyers People from Rosedale, Mississippi Speakers of the Mississippi House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians Neo-Confederates

Walter Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

20th-century American lawyers