Eugene Talmadge: The Segregationist Namesake Of Savannah’s Iconic Bridge
Former Georgia Gov. Eugene Talmadge, a political pugilist and segregationist, fought to keep black Georgians from the polls and was the head of a multi-decade political dynasty.
Associated Press File
This week, hundreds of Girl Scouts trooped to the Georgia Capitol to try to convince state lawmakers to rename Savannah’s iconic Talmadge Bridge. They want it named for their group’s founder, Savannah native Juliette Gordon Low.
The bridge is currently named for Eugene Talmadge, who served three terms as Georgia’s governor in the early 20th century.
Talmadge, a political pugilist and segregationist, fought to keep black Georgians from the polls and was the head of a multi-decade political dynasty. His son, Herman, also served terms as governor and in the U.S. Senate.
To take a look at the history of the Talmadge clan, Hank Klibanoff stopped by “Morning Edition” with Denis O’Hayer.
Klibanoff is a veteran journalist, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and a professor at Emory University, where he directs the Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project. He’s also the host of WABE’s podcast Buried Truths, debuting this spring.
Top Stories
