News and Announcements

News and Announcements

Here is a summary of the latest news and developments at the Georgia Government Documentation Project:

Series H (Black Boss) and K (Stetson Kennedy) in the Oral Histories are restricted until further notice; portions of Series Q (Georgia Legal Services) are in process.

• George Busbee (1927-2004), former governor of Georgia, who described himself as a workhorse, not a show horse, passed away on July 16, 2004. Born on August 7, 1927, Busbee graduated from the University of Georgia with a law degree, after serving in the Navy. A democrat, he practiced law in Albany, Georgia, and won a seat in the Legislature, where he served for 18 years. A protégé of House Speaker George L. Smith, Busbee served as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and vice-chairman of the Rules Committee. He won the Georgia governor's race in 1974 in a runoff election against Lester Maddox, and went on to become the first Georgia governor to serve two consecutive terms (eight years) in office. As governor, he launched the state's first kindergarten program, and replaced the state's long constitution with a new one in 1981. Upon taking office, he used the state's fiscal crisis to restructure and streamline the government and made programs such as Medicaid more efficient. Yet despite his efforts, he was unable to find a solution to Georgia's growing prison problem, and counted it as one of the greatest disappointments of his tenure. Busbee took an aggressive approach to economic development. He launched programs to improve Georgia's infrastructure: its harbors, highways, and airport. And after the legislature passed a statute to permit international banks to operate within Georgia, Busbee traveled extensively to attract international businesses to the state. He located their facilities across the state, in small as well as large communities, while supporting the "Quick Start" program to assist them with training programs geared to their specific needs. As a result, an annual average of $1 billion in investment, and 18,000 new jobs were attracted to Georgia during his administration. During his tenure the Board of Regents developed a Special Desegregation Plan and added new degree programs at the three predominantly black schools. As minority enrollment increased, Busbee recommended the Regents Opportunity Grant Program, which assisted minority students in professional and graduate programs. In addition, Busbee drafted the Fair Employment Practices Act to encourage the hiring of blacks. He established the Office of Fair Employment Practices to facilitate statewide fair employment practices and to investigate and conciliate complaints of discrimination in state government, and he established an Office of Minority Business Enterprise, to help minority businesses obtain state contracts. Busbee believed that states should initiate policies, rather than reacting to the dictates of the Federal Government, so when declining populations and economic downturning in the Northern states siphoned Federal funding to the South, Busbee emerged as a spokesman for Southern governors. His role in the federal-state arena propelled him to a national role among governors, and he assumed the chairmanship of the National Governors Association in 1980. The cornerstones of his governorship were educational improvements, economic development, and racial harmony. His leadership style was low-keyed, but decisive, and during his two terms he developed a respectful and cooperative relationship with the legislature. He was able to improve the programs in place, to make them more efficient and responsive to the citizens, while aggressively marketing Georgia as an economically progressive state. Interviews with Governor Busbee in the Georgia Government Documentation Project include an interview with James F. Cook on March 31, 1987, in Series A: Georgia Governors. Busbee is also mentioned in the following interviews: Series B: Public Figures: Griffin Bell, interviewed by Clifford Kuhn and William L. Bost on June 12, 1990; Bill Lee, interviewed by Bradley Rice on May 9, 1988; John Savage, interviewed by Sally Flocks on May 1, 1987; Tom Murphy, interviewed by Clifford Kuhn on March 28, 1988; Series Q: Georgia Legal Services Program: John L. Cromartie, interviewed by Clifford Kuhn on September 18, 2003; Series E: Black Involvement in Politics: Robert Flanagan, interviewed by Josephine Bradley on November 10, 1988; Voices of Labor, interviewed by Chris Lutz on August 29, 1995; Benjamin Brown, interviewed by Clifford Kuhn on November 6, 1996. 1996.

• James Mackay (1919-July 2, 2004), attorney, politician, author, and conservationist, passed away on July 2, 2004, at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. His father was a Methodist minister born in Northern Ireland, and his mother was born in Shanghai, China, the daughter of missionaries. Mr. Mackay attended Emory University, where he was president of the student body. During World War II, he served as a Coast Guard Reserve officer on the U.S.S. Menges, a destroyer escort in the Mediterranean, in 1944, and earned a Bronze Star for rescuing men when his ship was torpedoed. He then returned to Emory and graduated with a degree in law. After graduating, Mackay and fellow Emory alumnus Calvin Kytle were commissioned in 1947 to observe the Georgia legislature and to tour the state's 159 counties, in order to produce a report entitled Who Runs Georgia? The report remained a private document, known only to scholars and historians, for nearly fifty years, and was finally published by the University of Georgia Press in 1998. An unpublished version of the manuscript is housed in the Special Collections Department of Georgia State University's Pullen Library, along with interviews in which Mr. Mackay is mentioned. Mr. Mackay served six terms (1951-1964) in the Georgia Legislature, where he fought for civil rights issues. He was an advocate of open school, and in 1956 was one of the few legislators to vote against the new state flag with the Cross of St. Andrew, a Confederate emblem. He was a strong opponent of Georgia's county unit system. He was also an attorney for Martin Luther King, Jr., whom he represented in 1960, and was one of the sponsors of King's Nobel Peace Prize award dinner. A Democrat, Mr. Mackay was elected to the United States Congress in 1964, where he served one term. During his tenure as Congressman, Mackay was one of two Southerners who voted for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and was a mentor to Max Cleland, who was his congressional aide. Upon his return from Washington, Mr. Mackay resumed his law practice and pursued environmental concerns. He was the founding chairman of the Georgia Conservancy, and in 2002 was the first recipient of the James A. Mackay award, an award created in his name by the Fernbank Museum of Natural History, for his 50 years of service to the museum. Mackay also served three terms as president of the DeKalb Historical Society, and received that organization's History Maker Award in 2002. Mr. Mackay is survived by his wife, a daughter, three brothers, and one sister. Interviews with James Mackay in the Georgia Government Documentation Project include an interview with Clifford Kuhn on March 18, 1986, in Series B: Public Figures. Mackay is also mentioned in the following Series B, Public Figures interviews: Hamilton and Muriel Lokey, with Catherine Foster, 1/26/89; Dorothy and Glen Rainey, with Lorraine Nelson Spritzer, 11/8/77; John W. Greer, with Clifford Kuhn, 5/16/87, and the Goodwin Party Interview, conducted by Lorraine Nelson Spritzer, 7/25/77. In addition, Mr. Mackay is featured in a videotape interview with Clifford Kuhn, Series L: Portraits of the Past, 1/17/92.