Stoner, Jesse Benjamin, 1924-2005

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Jesse Benjamin Stoner, Jr. was born in 1924 in north Georgia. As a strong proponent of white supremacy and racial segregation during the civil rights era, Stoner revived a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Chattanooga, Tennessee when he was eighteen. He later founded several anti-Semitic political parties, ran for high political offices in Georgia as an avowed white supremacist, and served on the legal team for James Earl Ray, who was convicted of the 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King. In 1977, Stoner was indicted, and was later convicted and imprisoned, for the 1958 bombing of an African American church in Birmingham, Alabama. He died on April 23, 2005 at Lafayette, Georgia.

From the guide to the J. B. Stoner gubernatorial campaign collection, 1970, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Wilcox Collection, Kansas Collection)

Jesse Benjamin "J.B." Stoner was born April 13, 1924 in Walker County, Georgia near Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the age of eighteen he re-chartered a dormant chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Chattanooga. He went on to found the Stoner's Christian Anti-Jewish Party and produced several anti-Semetic publications. Also, he served as national chairman in the white-supremacist group National States' Rights Party. In 1952, after oving to Atlanta, he earned a law degree from Atlanta Law School. Stoner ran for governor of Georgia in 1970. Future U.S. President Jimmy Carter won the primary. In 1972, Stoner ran for the United States Senate. During his campaign the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) ruled that television stations had to play his advertisements, despite their offensive language, due to the fairness doctrine. In 1974, he ran for lieutenant governor of Georgia and received 73,000 votes. In 1977, Stoner was indicted for the 1958 bombing of an empty church in Birmingham, Alabama, and was convicted in 1980. Stoner appealed the ruling for three years, until his appeals ran out, and he became a fugitive for several months. In 1984, he was permanently removed from the roster of lawyers who may appear before the United States Supreme Court. After his release from prison in 1986, Stoner attempted a final effort to assume public office as lieutenant governor in 1990. Until his death at eighty-one, Stoner lived in northwest Georgia. He died in 2005 in Lafayette, Georgia from complications due to pneumonia.

From the description of Jesse Benjamin "J.B." Stoner flier and poster, 1970, 1974. (University of Georgia). WorldCat record id: 244251541

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Stoner, Jesse Benjamin, 1924-2005. [J.B. Stoner gubernatorial campaign collection] University of Kansas Archives / MSS / Rare Books, Kenneth Spencer Research Library
creatorOf Stoner, J. B. Jesse Benjamin "J.B." Stoner flier and poster, 1970, 1974.
referencedIn New York Times Company records. Arthur Hays Sulzberger papers, 1823-1999 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Stetson Kennedy collection, 1916-1950 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Archives Section
referencedIn Stetson Kennedy collection, 1916-1950. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Stoner, J. B. J.B. Stoner : commercials, 1972-1990. University of Oklahoma, Political Community Archives
referencedIn Southline Press, Inc. Southline Press, Inc. photographs, circa 1985-1989, undated. Atlanta History Center, Kenan Research Center / Cherokee Garden Library
creatorOf J. B. Stoner gubernatorial campaign collection, 1970 University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Wilcox Collection, Kansas Collection
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Carter, Jimmy, 1924- person
associatedWith Kennedy, Stetson, 1916- person
associatedWith Ku Klux Klan (1915- ) corporateBody
associatedWith National States Rights Party (U.S.) corporateBody
associatedWith New York Times Company corporateBody
associatedWith Southline Press, Inc. corporateBody
associatedWith University of Oklahoma. Political Commercial Archive. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
Alabama
Georgia
Georgia
Georgia
Subject
Advertising, political
Campaign literature
Campaign literature
Church buildings
Equal time rule (Broadcasting)
Racism
Racism
Television advertising
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1924-04-13

Death 2005-04-23

Information

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