Lester Garfield Maddox (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American Democratic Party politician who was governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971.
Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationist and maintained, to his death, that he never had any regrets. However, Tom Murphy (former Georgia House Speaker) stated: "He had a reputation as a segregationist, but he told us he was not a segregationist, but that you should b...
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Lester Garfield Maddox (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American Democratic Party politician who was governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971.
Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationist and maintained, to his death, that he never had any regrets. However, Tom Murphy (former Georgia House Speaker) stated: "He had a reputation as a segregationist, but he told us he was not a segregationist, but that you should be able to associate with whoever you wanted."
In 1944, Maddox, along with his wife, the former Virginia Cox, used $400 they had saved to open up a combination grocery store/restaurant. Building on that success, the couple then bought property on Hemphill Avenue off the Georgia Tech campus to open up the Pickrick Cafeteria.
Maddox made the Pickrick a family affair with his wife and children working side-by-side with him. The restaurant became known for its simple, inexpensive food, including its specialty, skillet-fried chicken. It soon became...
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