Albertis Harrison
Albertis Harrison | |
|---|---|
7th district | |
| In office January 14, 1948 – January 8, 1958 | |
| Preceded by | Y. Melvin Hodges |
| Succeeded by | Joseph C. Hutcheson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Albertis Sydney Harrison Jr. January 11, 1907 Alberta, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | January 23, 1995 (aged 88) Lawrenceville, Virginia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Oakwood Cemetery, Lawrenceville |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Lacey Virginia Barkley[1] |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia (LL.B.) |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Unit | U.S. Naval Reserve |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Albertis Sydney Harrison Jr. (January 11, 1907 – January 23, 1995) was an
Early life and education
Harrison was born in Alberta, Virginia, the son of Albertis Sydney Harrison and Lizzie, (née Goodrich).[3] He has been widely reported as related to Benjamin Harrison V who signed the Declaration of Independence and two United States presidents, William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison, the 9th and 23rd Presidents, however before his death, he found this to be false.[2][4]
He received an
Legal and political career
Harrison went into legal practice in
He was elected to the
Harrison resigned as attorney general in April 1961 to run for governor, winning election that November with 63.84% of the vote, defeating Republican H. Clyde Pearson. His administration increased educational financing for new schools and laboratories and raised teachers' pay. He promoted the development of state-supported colleges and technical schools as well as improved vocational training. He helped to modernize state banking laws to attract investment and accelerated highway construction.[2]
He sat on the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, later renamed the Supreme Court of Virginia, from 1968 to 1981. In 1968 he chaired the Commission on Constitutional Revision that drafted the 1971 Constitution of Virginia.
Massive Resistance
As Attorney General, Harrison was responsible for defending the state's resistance to school integration, as part of the
Part of Massive Resistance involved the closing of public schools in various Virginia cities and counties to prevent racially integrated classrooms.
Another aspect of Massive Resistance involved new laws regulating attorney ethics, designed to attack practices of the NAACP, which was pursuing the desegregation actions. Initially, the U.S. Supreme Court deferred to an upcoming decision of the Virginia Supreme Court about those new ethics rules in Harrison v. NAACP (1959), but the case came before it twice more in NAACP v. Button (1963) (which was reargued after Harrison resigned as attorney general to run for governor, and which Virginia lost under attorney general Robert Young Button.
Death
Harrison died of a heart attack at his home in Lawrenceville on January 23, 1995.[2] He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Lawrenceville, Virginia.[3]
The courthouse in Lawrenceville is named in his honor.
References
- ^ a b c d e "Virginia Governor Albertis S. Harrison Jr". National Governors Association. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g Saxon, Wolfgang (1995-01-25). "Albertis S. Harrison Jr., 88, Dies; Led Virginia as Segregation Fell". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
- ^ a b "Harrison, Albertis Sydney Jr". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 2013-01-04.
- ^ "Albertis S. Harrison Dies at 88". The Washington Post. January 25, 1995. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
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