Oral history with Mr. William Joel Blass - Page 1 |
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An Oral History with Mr. William Joel Blass
This oral history is provided through a cooperative project of USM Libraries and USM's Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage It is presented here for reference purposes only. Interviews in this collection are protected by copyright and PERMISSION TO PUBLISH MUST BE REQUESTED from the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. Please call ( 601) 266- 4574 for more information.
Biography
William Joel Blass's family tree has deep roots in Mississippi. His maternal great- grandfather was born near Picayune in 1814; his paternal great- grandfather served the Confederate Army at the battle for Chattanooga and sustained wounds grievous enough to justify his discharge. Unfortunately, although he survived his wounds, he succumbed to measles on the journey home and died in the home of a Methodist minister in Alabama. Born in 1917 and educated in Mississippi and Louisiana during the Great Depression, Joel Blass began his own law practice in Wiggins and maintained an office in Gulfport as well. In 1952 he successfully prosecuted the Boyce Holleman case, proving vote fraud had kept Holleman from winning. Blass ran for Stone County's congressional seat in 1953 and served two terms. He retired from the state legislature in 1960. While in office, most of Blass's colleagues considered him an extreme liberal on racial issues. Arguably, Blass seems now a moderate, a congressman who favored putting truth to the policy of " separate but equal." Even so, because he opposed the " red meat" bills proposed by the legislature's " wild- eyed" segregationists, he endured vigorous, hostile attacks on his reputation made by private citizens and from the floor of the state legislature. Blass retired from office in 1960 and returned to his law practice, teaching also at the law school of the University of Mississippi where he won a teacher's excellence award in 1969.
Topics Discussed
Family background College and law school during the Great Depression Military service during World War II Practicing law after the war Service in the state legislature The Holleman ( Boyce) case of vote fraud Walter Sillers The race issue and Blass's reputation in the legislature
mus- coh. blassw. doc Page 1 of 60
Object Description
| Title | Oral history with Mr. William Joel Blass |
| Description | Oral history.; Interview conducted on March 26, 1977 with William Joel Blass (born 1917). As a lawyer in 1952, he successfully prosecuted the Boyce Holleman case by proving that voter fraud had kept Holleman from winning. Beginning in 1953, he served two terms in Stone County's legislative seat, retiring from that position in 1960. While in office, most considered him an extreme liberal on racial issues. He favored putting truth to the policy of "separate but equal." Because he opposed the "red meat" bills proposed by the legislature's segregationists, he endured vigorous, hostile attacks on his reputation by both private citizens and state legislators. |
| Date of interview | 26 March 1977 |
| Interviewer | Caudill, Orley B. |
| Coverage (time period) | 1917-1977 (primarily 1950s and 1960s) |
| Resource type | Text |
| Format | Digital reproduction of a 60-page document. |
| Language | English |
| Publisher |
University of Southern Mississippi. Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. University of Southern Mississippi Libraries. (electronic version) |
| Contributors | Electronic version made available through a National Leadership Grant for Libraries from the Institute for Museum and Library Services to the University of Southern Mississippi. |
| Notes | This item is part of the Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive. |
| Rights | Copyright protected. Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required. |
| Contributing institution | Mississippi Oral History Program of the University of Southern Mississippi. |
| Digital repository | University of Southern Mississippi Digital Collections. |
| Digital collection | Oral History. |
| File size | 396.07 KB |
| File extension | |
| Identifier | mus-coh.blassw |
| File name | mus-coh.blassw.pdf |
