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Lester MaddoxLester Garfield Maddox (September 30, 1915–June 25, 2003) was an American Democratic Party politician who was Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. He initially came to prominence as a staunch segregationist but, like many Southern Democrats, he moderated his positions somewhat when it became clear that the gains of the civil rights movement were not going to be rolled back by political means, peaceful or otherwise. Lester Maddox was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He dropped out of school and took a correspondence course, ultimately opening the segregated "Pickrick" restaurant. He armed his white customers with pick handles to use as weapons against any blacks that might seek service, and in later years sold pick handles as souvenirs. He entered politics, running twice for Mayor of Atlanta and once for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, losing each time. When the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which required integration of public facilities, passed, he sold the restaurant rather than integrate it. He ran as the Democratic Party nominee for Governor of Georgia in 1966, and received fewer votes than Republican nominee Howard Callaway, but the large number of write-in votes for former governor Ellis Arnall prevented Callaway from attaining a majority. The election was decided by the state legislature, which was under Democratic party control, and so Maddox became Governor, serving from 1967 to 1971. Although Maddox ran as a conservative, he governed as a moderate, and appointed more Negroes to state government office than any of his predecessors. He also was noted for his off-the-cuff manner: when asked what actions could be taken to improve the abysmal conditions in Georgia prisons, Maddox replied that what was really needed was a better class of prisoner. Maddox's chief of staff was Zell Miller, who himself was elected governor in 1990. Under the Georgia constitution of 1945, he was prohibited from running for a second consecutive term, so in 1970 he ran for Lieutenant Governor and won, Jimmy Carter being elected Governor in the same election. Maddox ran again for governor in 1974 but lost in the Democratic primary to Carl Sanders: when Carter ran for President in 1976, Maddox ran against him as the nominee of the American Independent Party, but got few votes. His political career over, he had a short-lived nightclub comedy career with a black man he had pardoned from jail while he was governor. They called themselves "The Governor and the Dishwasher." Maddox was diagnosed with cancer in 1983, but made a successful recovery and was a visible figure in his home community of Cobb County, Georgia through his mid eighties. He had intestinal surgery not long before he died of pneumonia in an Atlanta hospice. The Interstate Highway 75 crossing of the Chattahoochee River is named the Lester and Virginia Maddox Bridge in honor of Maddox and his wife. External link - Lester! from Creative Loafing, March 20, 1999 (with link to his personal rebuttal to the article)
Maddox, Lester Maddox, Lester Maddox, Lester Maddox, Lester Maddox, Lester
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