Denmark Groover Jr.
Denmark Groover Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 99th district | |
| In office 1983–1995 | |
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 75th district | |
| In office 1973–1975 | |
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 27th district | |
| In office 1971–1973 | |
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the Bibb County district | |
| In office 1963–1965 | |
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the Bibb County district | |
| In office 1953–1957 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 30, 1922 Quitman, Georgia, United States |
| Died | April 18, 2001 (aged 78) Macon, Georgia, United States |
| Party | Democratic |
Denmark Groover Jr. (June 30, 1922 – April 18, 2001) was an American politician who served in the state of Georgia's House of Representatives.
Early life
[edit | edit source]Groover was born in Quitman, Georgia, on June 30, 1922, to Mary Porter McCall and Denmark Groover Sr. He was educated in the public schools in Quitman. His father was a salesman who sold mules, insurance, and watermelons. During World War II, he was a United States Marine Corps aviator who flew with the so-called Black Sheep Squadron, which was commanded by Major Pappy Boyington.[1]
Political career
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Groover graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in law which helped him reach his political roles. He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1953–57, 1963–65, 1971–75, and 1983–95.[2][3][4] He supported the 1956 change to the Georgia state flag but in 1993 he acknowledged it was offensive to some and worked for a compromise design.[5] He became infamous when in 1964 during a congressional redistricting bill, he hung from a wall and tried to stop a clock before it signaled the formal end of a session. A photographer captured a photo of the incident, and the photo was printed throughout newspapers which made him an embarrassing icon for Georgia politics.[6]
Groover also authored the 1964 law which moved Georgia elections from plurality to the two-round system, in response to the end of the county unit system and the feared rise of African-American voting power in the state.[7] Later he admitted to federal investigators that this means to dilute Black voting power has been racially motivated and that he has been a segregationist.[8]
He died in 2001 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery (Macon, Georgia).[9] In 2002, Groover was posthumously inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.[1]
References
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- ^ Georgia’s runoff system was created to dilute Black voting power. Washington Post. December 5, 2022.
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- 2001 deaths
- Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives
- 1922 births
- People from Quitman, Georgia
- United States Marine Corps officers
- United States Naval Aviators
- United States Marine Corps pilots of World War II
- 20th-century members of the Georgia General Assembly
- Members of the Georgia House of Representatives stubs