Walter Sillers Jr. | |
---|---|
56th Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives | |
In office January 4, 1944 – September 24, 1966 | |
Preceded by | Sam Lumpkin |
Succeeded by | John Junkin |
Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from Bolivar County | |
In office January 4, 1916 – September 24, 1966 | |
Preceded by | George Shelby |
Succeeded by | John L. Pearson |
Personal details | |
Born | Rosedale, Mississippi, U.S. | April 13, 1888
Died | September 24, 1966 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. | (aged 78)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
Lena Roberts (m. 1911) |
Parent(s) | Walter Sillers Florence Warfield |
Education | St. Andrew's-Sewanee School |
Alma mater | University of Mississippi |
Walter Sillers Jr. (April 13, 1888 – September 24, 1966) was an American lawyer, politician, landowner, and white supremacist.[1] A legislative leader from Mississippi, he served as the 56th Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives. An outspoken white nationalist, Sillers has been referred to as one of the most racist political leaders in Mississippi's history. He was one of the wealthiest people to have ever served in the Mississippi legislature. He served on the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission,[2] a state agency established to combat integration and civil rights organizing.