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Denmark Groover Jr. (June 30, 1922 – April 18, 2001) was an American politician who served in the state of Georgia's House of Representatives.

Early life

Groover was born in Quitman, Georgia, on June 30, 1922, to Mary Porter McCall and Denmark Groover Sr. He was educated in the public schools in Quitman. His father was a salesman who sold mules, insurance, and watermelons. During World War II, he was a United States Marine Corps aviator who flew with the so-called Black Sheep Squadron, which was commanded by Major Pappy Boyington.

Political career

Groover graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in law which helped him reach his political roles. He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1953–57, 1963–65, 1971–75, and 1983–95. He supported the 1956 change to the Georgia state flag but in 1993 he acknowledged it was offensive to some and worked for a compromise design. He became infamous when in 1964 during a congressional redistricting bill, he hung from a wall and tried to stop a clock before it signaled the formal end of a session. A photographer captured a photo of the incident, and the photo was printed throughout newspapers which made him an embarrassing icon for Georgia politics.

Groover also authored the 1964 law which moved Georgia elections from plurality to the two-round system, in response to the end of the county unit system and the feared rise of African-American voting power in the state. Later he admitted to federal investigators that this means to dilute Black voting power has been racially motivated and that he has been a segregationist.

He died in 2001 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery (Macon, Georgia). In 2002, Groover was posthumously inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.

References

1. ^ "Captain/Honorable Denmark Groover Jr". Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
2. "Denmark Groover (1922-2001)". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
3. "Former state lawmaker Denmark Groover dies". Athens Banner-Herald. Associated Press. April 19, 2001. Retrieved April 28, 2017 – via OnlineAthens.
4. "* Denmark Groover; Helped Change Georgia Flag". Los Angeles Times. April 22, 2001. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
5. Azarian, Alexander; Fesshazion, Eden (August 2000). "The State Flag of Georgia: The 1956 Change In Its Historical Context" (PDF). Senate Research Office. State of Georgia: State of Georgia. pp. 29–30. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 4, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
6. "Denmark Groover (1922-2001)".
7. "Civil Rights in America: Racial Voting RIghts" (PDF). National Park Service.
8. Georgia’s runoff system was created to dilute Black voting power. Washington Post. December 5, 2022.
9. "Interment: Denmark Groover Jr". Riverside Cemetery. Retrieved April 28, 2017. Lot Designation: Daffodil, Row B, Lot 202; includes photos & obituary.

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