Oral history interview with Governor Lester Maddox, 1986 March 7
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| Type: | Oral histories | Moving images | MovingImage |
|---|---|
| Creator: | Maddox, Lester, 1915-2003 Steely, Mel Fitz-Simons, Ted |
| Title: | Oral history interview with Governor Lester Maddox, 1986 March 7 |
| Description: | Lester Maddox (1915-2003) was born to a working class family on September 30, 1915 in Atlanta. He dropped out of high school to work, and received a draft deferment during World War II due to employment in an essential industry. He opened the Pickrick Cafeteria in 1947, and became as widely known for his segregationist political commentary, as for his food. Maddox ran for office several times with no success, but became known nationally after a picture of him and supporters holding axe handles turning away black patrons ran in papers nationally in 1964. In 1966 he entered the Democratic primary for governor and defeated liberal former governor Ellis Arnall. Maddox managed a victory in a tumultuous election that ended up being decided by the overwhelmingly Democratic Georgia legislature. Surprising to many, Maddox governed in a more moderate manner than expected and appointed more African Americans to government offices than all previous governors combined. He backed prison reform and secured more funding for the state's university system. Maddox could not serve a consecutive term as governor, so ran and won the office of lieutenant governor, where he often clashed with Governor Jimmy Carter. He went back into private business after leaving public office. Maddox died of cancer in 2003. Interviewed by Dr. Mel Steely and Ted Fitz-Simons at the University of West Georgia. In this interview, Lester Maddox discusses his early years. He answers questions regarding his lie at home, his family, his religion, and his education. He speaks of how he met his wife and reveals that he knew he would marry her from the moment he saw her. He also discusses her difficult rehabilitation after a bad car accident, and how she had taught him to be a more faithful man. He talks about the importance of personal campaigning, and laments that with television campaigning, anything can be projected, whether or not it is true. He addresses his segregationist beliefs, stating that he does not consider himself a racist because he does not believe in white supremacy; rather, he believes in the right to dissociate from other races. He characterizes individuals that supported him, including Hartsfield and Ivan Allen, as well as those that did not, like Ralph McGill. He continues on to discuss his views on the Civil Rights movement, and concludes the interview with words about his decision to close the Pickrick. |
| Subjects: | Maddox, Lester, 1915-2003 | Georgia--Politics and government--1865-1950 | Georgia--Politics and government--1951- | Governors--Georgia | Legislators--Georgia | Pickrick Cafeteria (Atlanta, Ga.) | Arnall, Ellis Gibbs, 1907-1992 | Biltmore (Hotel : Atlanta, Ga.) | Atlantic Steel Company | Bessemer Galvanizing Works | Electronic surveillance | Capitalism | Carnegie, Dale, 1888-1955 | Carnegie Library (San Antonio, Tex.) | Castlebury Family | Civil Rights Movement | Coca-Cola Company | United States--Constitution | Cummings, Georgia | United States. Declaration of Independence | Democratic Party (Ga.) | Democratic Party (U.S.) | Depressions--1929 | Douglas County (Ga.) | Forsyth County (Ga.) | Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790 | Fulton County (Ga.) | Fulton High School (Fulton County, Ga.) | Georgia. General Assembly | Georgia Institute of Technology | Georgia Institute of Technology. Bobby Dodd Stadium | Railroad cars--Georgia | Hale, Nathan, 1784-1863 | Hancock, John, 1737-1793 | William B. Hartsfield-Atlanta International Airport | Home Park Public School (Atlanta, Ga.) | Hoover, Herbert, 1874-1964 | Ingles Iron Works (Ga.) | Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 | Lang Steel Company | Leb's Restaurant (Atlanta, Ga.) | Linder, Thomas Mercer, 1887-1978 | Lindsley, Archie | Lithia Springs (Ga.) | Maddox, Dean | Maddox, Flonnie Bell Castlebury | Maddox, Lester, 1915- | Capitalism | Depressions--1929 | Political corruption | United States. Navy | Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945 | Stock Market Crash, 1929 | Talmadge, Eugene, 1884-1946 | University of Georgia | College integration--Georgia--Athens | Maddox, Virginia Cox, 1919-1997 | Murphy, Thomas Bailey, 1924-2007 | North Atlanta Baptist Church (Atlanta, Ga.) | Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) | Pirkle family | Republican Party (U.S.) | Republican Party (Ga.) | Rivers, Eurith Dickinson, 1895-1967 | Salvation Army | Slappery, George | Social Security System | Cable cars (Streetcars) | Talmadge, Herman E. (Herman Eugene), 1913-2002 | Washington, George, 1732-1799 | Watson, Thomas E. (Thomas Edward), 1856-1922 | World War, 1939-1945 | United States. Work Projects Administration | WSB (Radio station : Atlanta, Ga.) |
| Contributors: | Annie Belle Weaver Special Collections | University of West Georgia. Georgia's Political Heritage Program |
| Online Publisher: | Carrollton, Ga. : Annie Belle Weaver Special Collections in association with the Digital Library of Georgia, 2010 |
| Original Material: | Georgia's Political Heritage Program oral history interviews. Annie Belle Weaver Special Collections, Irvine Sullivan Ingram Library, State University of West Georgia |
| Rights and Usage: | Cite as: [interview title], Georgia's Political Heritage Program oral history interviews. Annie Belle Weaver Special Collections, Irvine Sullivan Ingram Library, University of West Georgia |
| Related Materials: | Forms part of the online collection: Georgia's Political Heritage Program. |
| Persistent Link to Item: | http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/uwg/phc/do:maddox1 |
| Related Institutions: | Digital Library of Georgia Annie Belle Weaver Special Collections |
| Collection Information: | Georgia's Political Heritage Program |