Racist governor-turned comedian dies

Lester Maddox, the restaurateur whose segregationist defiance propelled him into the Georgia governorship in the 1960s, died today aged 87.

A high school dropout, he gained national notoriety for chasing blacks away from his fried chicken restaurant in Atlanta in 1964, the day after the Civil Rights Act was signed into law. He closed and then sold the restaurant rather than serve blacks.

Fears of racial strife during his 1967-71 governorship proved unfounded when Maddox pursued a policy of relative moderation on race.

But in 1968 Maddox refused to close Atlanta for the funeral of Martin Luther King, which drew thousands of mourners to the city and expressed anger that state flags were being flown at half staff.

Maddox claimed he had nothing against blacks, just forced integration.

“As well as a constitutional human right to associate with whomever you please, there should be a corresponding right to disassociate if you please,” he once said.

He embarked on a short-lived nightclub comedy career with a black man he pardoned from jail while he was governor. They billed themselves as The Governor and the Dishwasher.