Ezekiel C. Gathings
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Ezekiel Candler Gathings
| image name=Ezekiel Gathings.jpg
| state1=Arkansas
| district1=1st
| party=Democratic
| term_start1=January 3, 1939
| term_end1=January 3, 1969
| preceded1=William J. Driver
| succeeded1=Bill Alexander
|state_senate2= Arkansas
|district2 = Thirty-second
|term_start2= January 14, 1935{{harvp|"SOS"|1998|p= 289}}.
|term_end2 = January 9, 1939{{harvp|"SOS"|1998|p= 270}}.
|predecessor2= Marvin B. Norfleet{{harvp|"SOS"|1998|p= 287-288}}.
|successor2 = J. O. E. Beck, Jr.{{harvp|"SOS"|1998|p= 292-293}}.
| birth_date={{birth date|1903|11|10}}
| birth_place=Prairie, Mississippi
| death_date={{death date and age|1979|05|02|1903|11|10}}
| death_place=West Memphis, Arkansas
| spouse=
| children=
| religion=
| occupation=
| residence=
| alma_mater=University of Alabama (did not graduate)
University of Arkansas School of Law
}}
Ezekiel Candler "Took" Gathings (November 10, 1903 – May 2, 1979) was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas, representing Arkansas' First Congressional District from 1939 to 1969. A Democrat and segregationist conservative, Gathings was an ally of Strom Thurmond, and stood against all civil rights legislation. Gathings also chaired the 1952 House Select Committee on Current Pornographic Materials, which advocated for censorship of obscene magazines, books, and comics.Speer, Lisa K. 2001. “Paperback Pornography: Mass Market Novels and Censorship in Post-War America.” Journal of American & Comparative Cultures 24 (3/4): 153–60
Early life and education
After Gathings was born in Prairie, Mississippi, his family moved to Earle, Arkansas when the boy was school-aged.{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4397|title=Ezekiel Candler "Took" Gathings (1903–1979) - Encyclopedia of Arkansas|website=www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net|access-date=2018-11-24}}
His nickname was derived from Gathings's younger brother's mispronunciation of his childhood nickname, "Sugar" ("Tooker", shortened to "Took").
Gathings graduated from high school in Earle, and briefly attended University of Alabama. He transferred to the University of Arkansas School of Law, where he graduated in 1929. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Helena, Arkansas. A few years later in 1932, he moved his practice to West Memphis.
Political career
Gathings served in the Arkansas Senate from 1935–1939, representing Crittenden and St. Francis Counties. He served in the 50th and 51st Arkansas General Assembly, which were entirely Democratic during the Solid South period. He was elected as a Democrat (defeating incumbent William J. Driver in the 1938 Democratic primary) to the Seventy-sixth and to the fourteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1969) as a representative of Arkansas' 1st Congressional District. He was a signatory of the 1956 Southern Manifesto{{cite journal|title=Senate – March 12, 1956|journal=Congressional Record|volume=102|issue=4|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|pages=4459–4461|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-3-1.pdf}} that opposed the desegregation of public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education. Gathings voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42|title=HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.|work=GovTrack.us}} 1960,{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/h102|title=HR 8601. PASSAGE.}} 1964,{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/h128|title=H.R. 7152. PASSAGE.}} and 1968{{Cite web |title=TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR … -- House Vote #113 -- Aug 16, 1967 |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1967/h113 |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=GovTrack.us |language=en}} as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution{{cite web |title=S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF POLL TAX AS A REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS. |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/87-1962/h193 |work=GovTrack.us}} and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/89-1965/h87|title=TO PASS H.R. 6400, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT.}}
Retirement and death
Gathings resided in West Memphis, Arkansas, where he died May 2, 1979. He was interred in Crittenden Memorial Park, Marion, Arkansas.
References
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- {{cite book |last1= Priest |first1= Sharon |author-link1=Sharon Priest |editor1-last= Runnells |editor1-first= Jonathan |title= Historical Report of the Arkansas Secretary of State |year= 1998 |publisher= Office of the Arkansas Secretary of State |oclc= 40157815 |ref={{harvid|"SOS"|1998}} }}
{{CongBio|G000098}}
{{refend}}
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{{US House succession box
| state=Arkansas
| district=1
| before=William J. Driver
| years=1939–1969
| after=Bill Alexander}}
{{end}}
{{Bioguide}}
{{U.S. Arkansas Representatives}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gathings, Ezekiel Candler}}
Category:People from Monroe County, Mississippi
Category:Democratic Party Arkansas state senators
Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas
Category:People from West Memphis, Arkansas
Category:Signatories of the Southern Manifesto
Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
Category:20th-century members of the Arkansas General Assembly