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

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

. Lanham was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He attended the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

where he was a member of the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternity and the

Phi Kappa Literary Society The Phi Kappa Literary Society is a College literary societies (American), college literary society, located at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and is one of the few active literary societies left in America. Originally founded in ...

. Lanham graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1910 and Bachelor of Law degree with honors in 1911. He also graduated from the

Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences The Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) is the largest of the twelve graduate schools of Harvard University, when measured by the number of degree-seeking students. Formed in 1872, GSAS is responsible for most o ...

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 (U.S. state), Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republican Party (United States), Repu ...

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 is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, 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; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

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

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, 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 F ...

, 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 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, UN Genocide Convention. This paper was written by the Civil Rights Congress (C ...

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

white supremacy 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 ...

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 The Scottsboro Boys were nine African Americans, African American male teenagers accused of rape, raping two White American, white women in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with Racism in the United States, racism ...
— 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 that 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 him outright. Lanham was killed in an automobile accident in 1957 in Rome, after 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 Three ...

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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanham, Henderson Lovelace 1888 births 1957 deaths American anti-communists 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 lawyers Signatories of the Southern Manifesto 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly

See also

References