Charles Lee Smith

Charles Lee Smith (1887 – 1964) was an atheist, a free-thought activist, a white supremacist and anti-Semite in the United States.

In November 1925, he founded the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism (A.A.A.A. or "the 4A's"), which lasted until the death of his successor James Hervey Johnson. It attempted to organize student affiliates at universities and high schools, creating at least 30 student chapters. The Los Angeles branch, "The Devil's Angels" included among its members Queen Silver, whose activities with the 4A's inspired the fictionalized movie The Godless Girl. The Rochester Chapter was known as "The Damned Souls", at Philadelphia "God's Black Sheep", at the University of Wisconsin "The Circle of the Godless", and "The Legion of the Damned" at the University of North Dakata. However, the organization declined over time.

Between 1926 and 1928, Smith came into conflict with John Roach Straton, which resulted in Straton suing Smith for harassment via the mails.

In 1928 Smith undertook a course that ended with him the last documented person to be convicted of blasphemy in the United States. That year, Smith rented a store-front in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he gave out free anti-religious atheist literature. The sign in the window read: "Evolution Is True. The Bible's a Lie. God's a Ghost." For this, he was charged with violating the city ordinance against blasphemy. Because he was an atheist, and therefore, wouldn't swear the court's religious oath to tell the truth, he wasn't permitted to testify in his own defense. The judge then dismissed the original charge, replacing it with one of distributing obscene, slanderous, or scurrilous literature. Smith was convicted, fined $25, and served most of a twenty-six-day jail sentence. His high-profile fast while behind bars drew national media attention. Upon his release, he immediately resumed his atheistic activities, was again charged with blasphemy, and this time convicted. In his trial, he was once more denied the right to testify and was sentenced to ninety days in jail and a fine of $100. Released on $1,000 bail, Smith appealed the verdict. The case then dragged on for several years, until it was finally dismissed. Local fundamentalist Baptist minister Ben M. Bogard (known for successfully lobbying for an Arkansas state law banning the teaching of evolution in the public schools) unexpectedly defended Smith's right to free speech, believing that he could defeat him in a fair debate.

...
Wikipedia