| Title: |
William Joel Blass
|
| Document type: |
Oral history
|
| Accessibility: |
Free Only
|
| Repository: |
University of Southern Mississippi. Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage
|
| Collection: |
Civil Rights Documentation Project
|
| Description: |
Interview conducted on 03-26-1977 with William Joel Blass (born 1917). As a lawyer in 1952, he successfully prosecuted the Boyce Holleman case by proving that voter fraud had kept Holleman from winning. Beginning in 1953, he served two terms in Stone County's congressional seat, retiring from that position in 1960. While in office, most considered him an extreme liberal on racial issues. He favored putting truth to the policy of "separate but equal". Because he opposed the "red meat" bills proposed by the legislature's segregationists, he endured vigorous, hostile attacks on his reputation by both private citizens and state legislators.
|
| Extent: |
1 page
|
| URL: |
http://www.lib.usm.edu/%7Espcol/crda/oh/blass.htm
|
| Restrictions: |
It is presented here for reference purposes only. Interviews in this collection are protected by copyright and
PERMISSION TO PUBLISH MUST BE REQUESTED
from the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage.
|
| Original Language: |
English
|
| Time span: |
Not indicated ... to 1977 (Year of interview)
|
| Speaker: |
Blass, William Joel, 1917-
|
| Speaker gender: |
Female
|
| Speaker date of birth: |
1917
|
| Speaker race: |
White
|
| Speaker occupation: |
Lawyer
|
| Age at speaking: |
60
|
| Document date: |
26-Mar-1977
|
| Interviewer: |
Caudill, Orley B.
|
| Organizations discussed: |
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Baltimore, MD; Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, US; White Citizens Council
|
| Historical events discussed: |
Martin Luther King's March on Washington, DC, August 28, 1963; U.S. Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965; U.S. Civil Rights Movement, 1966-
|
| Locations discussed: |
Mississippi; North America; United States
|
| Topics discussed - ASP terms: |
African Americans; Civil rights demonstrations; Civil rights movements--United States; Martin Luther King's March on Washington, DC, August 28, 1963; Mississippi; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Baltimore, MD; North America; Oral history; Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, US; U.S. Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965; U.S. Civil Rights Movement, 1966-; United States; White Citizens Council
|
| Topics discussed - Other terms: |
Activism
|
| ASP release: |
2005-06
|
| Document code: |
OHI0023481-24992
|
