Cox, Earnest Sevier

Racial separatist, real estate agent, and military officer of Richmond, Va., born 1880, died 1966. Descendent of John Sevier of Tennessee.

From the description of Earnest Sevier Cox papers, 1821-1973, 1900-1964 (bulk). (Duke University Library). WorldCat record id: 18219168

• 1880, Jan. 24: Born near Louisville, Blount County, Tenn.
• 1899: B.S. Roane College, Wheat, Tenn.
• 1900: Received diploma from the Business Department of the Massey Practical Business College and School of Shorthand in Columbus, Ga.
• 1901: Reporter for the Anadarko Record and Southwestern Progress in Anadarko, Okla.
• 1901: Taught school in Verden, Okla.
• 1902: Attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago
• 1903: Enrolled at the Vanderbilt University Theological School in Nashville, Tenn.
• 1904 - 1905 : Preached at summer revival meetings in Tennessee and Kentucky
• ca. 1907: Lecturer with the Jamestown Exposition in Virginia, recounting the Battles of Bull Run in a cyclorama
• 1908: University of Chicago reviewed Cox's previous studies and granted him the equivalent of a college degree at which time he officially undertook a program of graduate work
• 1909: Worked at cycloramas in Chicago and Pittsburgh
• 1910: Traveled to Africa and worked in the diamond mines in Kimberley, South Africa
• 1911 - 1914 : Traveled extensively in Africa, the Far East, the Philippines, Panama, and South America
• ca. 1916: Made speeches before various civic groups about his travels in Africa
• 1916: Met Mississippi senator and segregationist James K. Vardaman, who secured him a part-time job in the Senate Folding Room where he prepared magazines for mailing
• 1917 - 1919 : Served in the U.S. Army with the American Expeditionary Forces at the Bordeaux Embarkation Camp in France
• 1920: Moved to Richmond, Va.
• 1922 - 1958 : Real estate agent for the Laburnum Realty Corporation in Richmond, Va.
• 1923: White America published (originally called Decay of Culture: A Study of the Negro in Civilization)
• 1923: Began to spearhead a drive for more stringent laws governing racial intermixture in Virginia Pamphlet Let My People Go printed; it was dedicated to Marcus Garvey
• 1930s - 1950s : Lobbied Congress to pass the Greater Liberia and Langer bills, both advocating the repatriation of blacks to Africa
• 1936: Spoke before the Eugenics Research Association in New York
• 1937: Revised special edition of White America published and distributed free to U. S. Congressional members
• 1938: Pamphlets Let My People Go and Lincoln's Negro Policy were distributed free to U.S. Congressional members
• 1951: Work Teutonic Unity was privately printed and sent free to government officials and U. S. Congressional members in Washington, D.C.
• 1953: Commissioned Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve
• 1953: Published article I Witnessed A Miracle, that discussed the hearing on the Langer Bill before representatives of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
• 1955: Published pamphlet Unending Hate denouncing the U. S. Supreme Court Brown vs. the Board of Education decision
• 1959: Attended the Teutoburger Moot, held in Detmold, Germany, where his address Herman's Brother was delivered by English and German interpreters
• 1963: Published autobiographical work Black Belt Around the World at the High Noon of Colonialism concerning travels between 1910 to 1914
• 1966: Paperback edition of White America published
• 1966, Apr. 26: Died in Richmond, Va. and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery
• 1972: Lincoln's Negro Policy, a compilation of a number of Cox's essays, published posthumously

From the guide to the Earnest Sevier Cox Papers, 1821-1973, (Duke University. David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library)