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

white supremacist White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

. A legislative leader from

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

, 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 for ...

. An outspoken

white nationalist White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a Race (human categorization), raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara ...

, 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 MSSC or Sov-Com) was a state agency in Mississippi active from 1956 to 1973 and tasked with fighting integration and controlling civil rights activism. It was overseen by the Governor ...

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

Background

Sillers was born in

Rosedale, Mississippi Rosedale is a city and one of two county seats of Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States, the other seat being Cleveland. The Rosedale population was 1,873 at the 2010 census, down from 2,414 in 2000. Located in an agricultural area, the c ...

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. 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 Yazo ...

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 Gent ...

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

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

military officer who served in the 2nd Arkansas Infantry Regiment. He was a great-great grandson of Elisha Warfield 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 nationally. In 1939, th ...

. He lived with his family in a large Victorian-style mansion on Levee Street. He was educated at St. Andrew's-Sewanee School, 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 States ...

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 Winchester, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sewanee is best known as the home ...

. 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 most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

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 18 ...

s of

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

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–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

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

, and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

. 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 serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

Mississippi Valley State University Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU, The Valley or Valley) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Mississippi Valley State, Mississippi, adjacent to Itta Bena, Mississ ...

. The

Walter Sillers State Office Building The Walter Sillers State Office Building is a high-rise government office building in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. It was designed in the International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in weste ...

, a government high-rise in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

is also named after him.

Delta State University Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi, a city in the Mississippi Delta. History The school was established in 1924 by the State of Mississippi, using the facilities of the former Bolivar County Agricultu ...

'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 known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

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, Cleveland, Mississippi, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Gulf South Conferen ...

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 composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

. 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, the daughter of longtime state senator

W. B. Roberts William Beauregard Roberts (March 5, 1861 - October 3, 1940) was an American Democratic politician, lawyer, planter, and banker. A resident of Rosedale, Mississippi, he represented Bolivar County, Mississippi, Bolivar County in the Mississippi Sta ...

. He was a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and the

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic body, Masonic society. Founded in 1872 in New York City, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and has over ...

. Sillers died at the age of 78 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 Dixiecrats Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Mississippi Legislature Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission members