Joseph T. Smitherman
| Joseph Smitherman | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Selma | |
|
In office 1980–2000 |
|
| Preceded by | Carl Morgan, Jr. |
| Succeeded by | James Perkins, Jr. |
|
In office 1964 – July 15, 1979 |
|
| Preceded by | Chris Heinz |
| Succeeded by | Carl Morgan, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 23, 1929 Alberta, Alabama |
| Died | September 11, 2005 (aged 75) Selma, Alabama |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Occupation | railroad brakeman |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Battles/wars | Korean War |
Joseph T. "Joe" Smitherman (December 23, 1929 – September 11, 2005) was an American politician who served more than 35 years as mayor of Selma, Alabama. He was in office during the Selma to Montgomery marches of the Civil Rights Movement.
Smitherman was born in Alberta, Alabama. His family moved to Selma, where he graduated from high school. Smitherman worked as a railroad brakeman before joining the United States Army during the Korean War. Upon discharge, he opened a home appliance store. In 1960, he won a seat on the Selma City Council. He was elected mayor in 1964. He resigned in 1979 and was succeeded by Council President Carl Morgan (d. 2006). A year later he returned to office, defeating Mayor Morgan in a three-way race. He served five more terms until the 2000 mayoral elections, when he lost to James Perkins, Jr., Selma's first African American mayor, who ran under the slogan "Joe's Got To Go".
In his early political career in the 1960s he was in favor of segregation, and controversially referred to Martin Luther King Jr. as "Martin Luther Coon" in a 1965 televised interview. He explained it as a slip of the tongue. After African Americans gained voting rights, he appointed several African Americans officials to high municipal offices. And he gained enough support among the African American population to remain in office, proudly referring to his significant support in the African American community.
At the time of the Selma march he was considered a moderate, and was not close to Judge James Hare or Sheriff Jim Clark who ordered and carried out the police operation against marchers. Nonetheless he did order city police to use force against the protesters, but the order was disobeyed by the safety director Wilson Baker. Before the marches he had rejected the possibility of forming a biracial reconciliation committee.
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