Aurelius Southall Scott Explained

Aurelius Southall Scott
Birth Date:January 26, 1901
Birth Place:Edwards, Mississippi
Death Date:June 28, 1978
Nationality:American
Occupation:Educator, editor, political candidate

Aurelius Southall Scott (January 26, 1901 – June 28, 1978) was an American educator and newspaper editor. Scott made national headlines in 1946, when he ran for public office in Georgia; he was arrested and institutionalized to force an end to his campaign.

Early life

Aurelius Southall Scott was born in Edwards, Mississippi,[1] one of the nine children of the Rev. William Alexander Scott and Emmeline Southall Scott.[2] [3] His father was clergyman and publisher; his mother was a teacher and a typesetter in her husband's publishing business.[4] [5] He attended Morehouse College, where he played football and was a member of the debate team, before graduating in 1925.[6] He earned a master's degree at Ohio State University.

Career

Education and publishing

Scott taught at Bethune-Cookman College[7] and West Virginia State University. Scott's brother W. A. Scott Jr. founded the Atlanta Daily World newspaper in 1928;[8] when W. A. Scott Jr. was killed in 1934,[9] his brothers fought over the family's publishing business.[10] Aurelius S. Scott was editor of the Birmingham World newspaper, until another brother, Cornelius A. Scott, fired him after a salary disagreement.[11]

In 1961, Aurelius S. Scott founded the University of Love, an Atlanta-based institute.[12]

Politics and institutionalization

In 1946, Scott ran for Fulton County coroner.[13] [14] Fearing that he might become the first black elected official in Georgia since Reconstruction,[15] his white opponents and others (including his brother, editor Cornelius A. Scott) pressured him to withdraw as a candidate.[16] [17] When he refused to withdraw,[18] his residency qualification was challenged,[19] and he was arrested, possibly[20] with his brother's cooperation.[21] [22] Aurelius Scott reacted violently to the arrest,[23] and was institutionalized at a mental hospital in Nashville, Tennessee,[24] effectively ending his campaign.[25] [26]

Scott's family,[27] the NAACP, the National Urban League, and the American Civil Liberties Union all protested Scott's removal from the ballot and involuntary commitment.[28] "He has done his people great harm," declared the editors of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "apparently out of a desire, by no means confined to the Negro race, for publicity, or notoriety."[29] "Criticism should be aimed at the forces facing Scott rather than at him," commented the National Urban League's Lester B. Granger.[30]

Personal life

Scott married fellow professor Mazie O. Tyson in 1928;[31] they ran a summer camp together in Ohio, and were on the faculty together at Bethune-Cookman College,[32] before they separated in the 1930s. He married again in 1943, to Ruth Commons.[33] Scott died in July 1978, aged 77 years.

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://books.google.com/books?id=9b8DAAAAMBAJ&dq=Aurelius+Southall+Scott&pg=PA56 "Atlantans Mourn Death of Aurelius S. Scott, 77"
  2. Web site: Scott Family, c1928, in the New Georgia Encyclopedia. Georgia Journeys. en. 2020-02-13.
  3. July 21, 1977. Mother of Atlanta Newspaper Publishers Dies at Age 98. Jet. 55.
  4. Book: Teel, Leonard Ray. American National Biography Online. 2000. Oxford University Press. 1. en. Scott, William Alexander, II (1902-1934), newspaper publisher. 10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1603105. 978-0-19-860669-7.
  5. News: Deaths: Emmeline Scott. 1977-07-06. The Evening Review. 2020-02-13. 4.
  6. Web site: Atlanta, the Scott Family, and the Creation of a Media Empire. 2018-12-18. Atlanta Studies. en-US. 2020-02-13.
  7. Bethune-Cookman University, The Advocate, Catalogue, Edition of 1930-31 (1930): 12.
  8. Web site: Photos: Atlanta Daily World and the Scott family. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. en. 2020-02-13.
  9. News: Brother-in-Law on Trial for Slaying of Ga. Publisher. February 9, 1935. Baltimore Afro American. February 13, 2020. 2. NewspaperArchive.com.
  10. News: Family Fight for Control of Scott Papers. May 5, 1934. Baltimore Afro American. February 13, 2020. 7. NewspaperArchive.com.
  11. News: Long-Distance Calls Result in Loss of Job. 1938-11-12. The Pittsburgh Courier. 2020-02-13. 7. Newspapers.com.
  12. July 6, 1961. People are Talking About. Jet. 46.
  13. News: In Race, Maybe. 1946-10-13. The Spokesman-Review. 2020-02-13. 5. Newspapers.com.
  14. News: Squeezed Out. 1946-10-12. The Des Moines Register. 2020-02-13. 2. Newspapers.com.
  15. News: Seeks Georgia Vote. 1946-10-18. Wisconsin State Journal. 2020-02-13. 17. Newspapers.com.
  16. News: Georgia Democrats Bar Negro in Race, Then Change Minds. 1946-10-12. Chicago Tribune. 2020-02-13. 6. Newspapers.com.
  17. News: Fresh Wrinkles in Georgia Row. 1946-10-15. The Spokesman-Review. 2020-02-13. 9. Newspapers.com.
  18. News: Georgia Negro to Remain in Race for Coroner in Atlanta. 1946-10-15. Amarillo Daily News. 2020-02-13. 3. Newspapers.com.
  19. Miller. J. Erroll. 1948. The Negro in Present Day Politics With Special Reference to Philadelphia. The Journal of Negro History. 33. 3. 339. 10.2307/2715478. 2715478. 150016657. 0022-2992.
  20. News: Tales Conflict on Negro Candidate's Move to Hospital. 1946-10-21. The Gazette. 2020-02-13. 2. Newspapers.com.
  21. News: Atlanta Negro Seeking Office Is Arrested. 1946-10-20. The Courier-Journal. 2020-02-13. 11. Newspapers.com.
  22. News: Deplores Race. 1946-10-11. The Knoxville Journal. 2020-02-13. 7.
  23. News: Candidate Scott Near Institution Treatment. 1946-10-19. The Atlanta Constitution. 2020-02-13. 1. Newspapers.com.
  24. News: Negro Politico Mental Patient. 1946-10-20. The Spokesman-Review. 2020-02-13. 20. Newspapers.com.
  25. News: Scott's Name Taken off Ga. County Ticket. November 2, 1946. Indianapolis Recorder. February 13, 2020. 7. Hoosier State Chronicles.
  26. Book: Patterson, William L.. We Charge Genocide: The Historic Petition to the United Nations for Relief from a Crime of the United States Government Against the Negro People. 1952. Civil Rights Congress. 91–92. en.
  27. News: Family Denies Making Charge Against Scott. November 2, 1946. Indianapolis Recorder. February 13, 2020. Hoosier State Chronicles.
  28. News: Candidacy of Scott for Ga. Coroner Called Untimely. October 26, 1946. Jackson Advocate. February 13, 2020. 7. NewspaperArchive.com.
  29. News: The Case of Aurelius S. Scott. 1946-10-18. The Atlanta Constitution. 2020-02-13. 12. Newspapers.com.
  30. News: Candidate Kicked Out, Record Erased. October 19, 1946. Baltimore Afro American. February 13, 2020. 24. NewspaperArchive.com.
  31. News: Tyson-Scott Wedding. 1928-06-16. The Evening Review. 2020-02-13. 5. Newspapers.com.
  32. The Wildcat (Bethune-Cookman College 1930): 17.
  33. News: Prominent Couple Feted. 1943-04-10. The Pittsburgh Courier. 2020-02-13. 10. Newspapers.com.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Aurelius Southall Scott".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.