John Logan Cashin Jr. (April 16, 1928 – March 21, 2011) 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, p ...

dentist, civil rights campaigner, and politician. He was the founder and leader of the

National Democratic Party of Alabama The National Democratic Party of Alabama (NDPA) was a political party active in the U.S. state of Alabama that opposed the segregationist governor George Wallace. 1968 election During the 1968 presidential election, Alabama's Democratic Party ...

. Born in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

, Cashin received his bachelor's degree from

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

and

Doctor of Dental Surgery A number of professional degrees in dentistry are offered by dental schools in various countries around the world. Degrees Dental degrees may include: Bachelor's degree * Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) * Bachelor's degree of Dentistry (BDS ...

degree from

Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry The School of Dentistry is a dental school within Meharry Medical College located in the United States city of Nashville, Tennessee. History Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry is a part of Meharry Medical College. The school was establ ...

. Cashin's father was a dentist, and his mother was a school principal. Additionally, his grandfather Herschel Cashin served in the Alabama legislature during the 1870s. From 1955 to 1957, Cashin served in the

Army Dental Corps The Royal Army Dental Corps (RADC) was a specialist corps in the British Army that provided dental health services to British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace. The corps was awarded the "royal" prefix to become the Royal ...

. He was the party's nominee when he unsuccessfully ran for governor against

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

in the 1970 gubernatorial election. As the party's leader he spoke at the January 18, 1971 NDPA victory celebration in

Eutaw, Alabama Eutaw ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Greene County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,937. The city was named in honor of the Battle of Eutaw Springs, the last engagement of the American Revolutionary War ...

after they swept the Greene County Election. NDPA candidates William McKinley Branch beat Judge Herndon while Thomas Gilmore defeated Sheriff Bill Lee. Cashin died on March 21, 2011, in a hospital in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, following a bout of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

.Alabama civil rights leader John Cashin dies at 82
/ref> His daughter Sheryll Cashin is a professor at

Georgetown University Law Center Georgetown University Law Center is the Law school in the United States, law school of Georgetown University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law ...

. He has two sons: John Cashin and Carroll.

References

1928 births 2011 deaths Activists for African-American civil rights Meharry Medical College alumni Politicians from Huntsville, Alabama Tennessee State University alumni Deaths from pneumonia in Washington, D.C. Activists from Alabama National Democratic Party of Alabama politicians 20th-century Alabama politicians 20th-century American dentists {{US-activist-stub