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Jesse Benjamin (J.B.) Stoner Flier and Poster
Collection Description
Biographical Note
Jesse Benjamin "J.B." Stoner was born April 13, 1924 in Walker County, Georgia, near Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the age of eighteen he re-chartered a dormant chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Chattanooga. He went on to found the Stoner Christian Anti-Jewish Party and produced several anti-Semitic publications. Also, he served as national chairman in the white supremacist National States' Rights Party. In 1952, after moving to Atlanta, he earned a law degree from Atlanta Law School.
Stoner ran for governor of Georgia in 1970 and was defeated in the primary by future U.S. President Jimmy Carter. Two years later Stoner ran for the United States Senate. During his campaign the Federal Communications Commission ruled that, under the fairness doctrine, television stations had to play his advertisements despite the ads' use of racial epithets for Black people. Stoner only received 40,000 votes in the Democratic primary, losing to Sam Nunn. In 1974, Stoner ran to succeed Lester Maddox as lieutenant governor and received 73,000 votes, about 10% of the vote. He ran for governor again in 1978, but only received 5% of the vote.
In 1977, Stoner was indicted for the 1958 bombing of Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, 
Alabama. He was convicted in 1980 and appealed the conviction for three years before finally becoming a fugitive from justice for several months. After serving three-and-a-half years of his sentence, Stoner was released from prison in 1986 for good behavior.
In 2005 Stoner died at his home in Lafayette, Georgia from complications due to pneumonia.
Scope and Content
One campaign poster (18 x 23"), with the words "Elect Stoner Governor," used during the 1970 Georgia governor's race and a flier announcing a 1974 meeting of the National States Rights Party.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Jesse Benjamin (J.B.) Stoner Flier and Poster, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.
User Restrictions
Library acts as "fair use" reproduction agent.
Copyright Information
Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permission. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.
Finding Aid Publication
Finding aid prepared on: 2008.
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Subject Terms
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Clifford H. (Baldy) Baldowski Editorial Cartoons
Related Collections in Other Repositories
Julian P. Kanter Political Commercial Archive, University of Oklahoma
J. B. Stoner Gubernatorial Campaign Collection, 1970, Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas