James Eldon Swan (November 18, 1912 – 29 October 1995) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

ian and later, a segregationist political candidate.

Early life

James Edgar Swan was born on November 18, 1912, in the Sand Hill area of Cullman County,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. After his father left the family, Swan moved with his mother to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

in 1922. At age 15, he won a talent show at an Alabama radio station. He married at age 17 with Grace Armour, a

beauty queen A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...

, and quickly had three children, and was unable to put together a band until the beginning of the 1940s, due to him having to provide for his family.

Musical career

In 1966, Swan was more concerned with his radio station in

Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and most populous city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 48,730 in 2020, making it the 5th m ...

, WBKH, than about his singing.

Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi

1967 election

In 1967, Swan ran in the Democratic primary for the governorship of Mississippi on a

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 ...

platform, wearing a white suit to stress his political program. His campaign bodyguard Pat Massengale was a member of the Knights of the Green Forrest, a

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

organization. Swan supported school segregation and the creation of "FREE, private, SEGREGATED SCHOOLS for every white child in the State of Mississippi" in the first twelve months of his term, or else he would resign and publicly apologize, and called to save Mississippi "from the moral degeneracy of total mass integration that Washington has decreed for our children this fall", when schools were to be integrated by the HEW. He supported White supremacy. He described the urban riots as a part of a "Communist-inspired revolution", promising to use extreme force if such riots occurred in Mississippi. He managed to attract segregationists who disagreed with how

Ross Barnett Ross Robert Barnett (January 22, 1898November 6, 1987) was an American politician and segregationist who served as the 53rd governor of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964. He was a Southern Democrat who supported racial segregation. Early life Ba ...

managed the

Ole Miss riot of 1962 The Ole Miss riot of 1962 (September 30 – October 1, 1962), also known as the Battle of Oxford, was a race riot that occurred at the University of Mississippi—commonly called Ole Miss—in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi, as Racial ...

, finding him too moderate. Finally, he called to "put the Bible, prayer and patriotism back in the schools". He finished third, with 18.18% of the vote.

1971 election

Swan ran for the Democratic nomination for governor on a segregationist platform, the lone one alongside Judge Marshall Perry of Grenada. Although he somewhat tried to soften his rhetoric, he still praised

Theodore Bilbo Theodore Gilmore Bilbo (October 13, 1877 – August 21, 1947) was an American politician who twice served as governor of Mississippi (1916–1920, 1928–1932) and later was elected a U.S. Senator (1935–1947). Bilbo was a demagogue and filibus ...

, brandishing in public his book ''Take Your Choice: Separation Or Mongrelization''.

Early life

Musical career

Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi

1967 election

1971 election

Discography

Notes and references

Works cited

See also