predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place religion birth_date term_start order article_title term_end
charles a. baumhauer joseph a. bailey 4 november 2004 mobile , alabama mobile , alabama roman catholic 11 march 1912 1953 finance commissioner of mobile joseph n. langan
 1969
joseph n. langan

joseph n. langan was a mobile , alabama-area community leader and politician who served four terms on the mobile city commission as well as several terms as mayor of mobile .
all of his terms as mayor of mobile were when the title was co-extensive with the presidency of the city commission .
mobile 's largest municipal park now bears his name .
joseph n. langan -lrb- 1912 -- 2004 -rrb- was a longtime mobile politician .
as a state senator , he worked for voting rights and opposed the dixiecrat movement , and as a mobile commissioner , he expanded the size of the city and crafted a moderate approach to advancing the equality of african american citizens .
joseph nicholas langan was born in mobile , mobile county , on march 11 , 1912 .
his father , david langan , served as the tax collector for mobile until 1911 .
later , he went into business with his brother , opening a men 's clothing store in downtown mobile .
when the store was destroyed by a hurricane in 1916 , langan moved his wife and four children to semmes , a small community in north mobile county .
after world war i , the langans moved back to mobile and opened a grocery store on espejo street .
mobile politician and civil rights figure joseph n. joseph langan .
the langans were devout catholics .
joseph langan attended st. mary 's parochial school for his early education and then transferred to murphy high school , where he graduated in 1931 .
that same year , he joined the alabama national guard and also took a job in his uncle 's law firm .
at night , he studied for the alabama bar exam and passed in 1936 .
in 1939 , langan ran successfully for a seat in the alabama house of representatives .
the 27-year-old politician worked for the improvement of alabama 's voting laws and oversaw the installation of voting machines in mobile .
langan 's term was cut short in 1941 with america 's entry into world war ii .
he rejoined the national guard and was sent to arizona for training .
during the latter years of the war , langan served with the thirty-first dixie division as a chief of staff in the south pacific during campaigns in the philippines and new guinea , for which he was awarded a bronze star .
like many returning soldiers , wartime service had a moderating effect on langan 's racial views .
growing up in the segregated south , langan was keenly aware of the seriousness of the color line , even if he and his family did not always adhere to the status quo .
as a catholic , he had been taught that all men were equal in the eyes of god , and he had grown up in a racially mixed neighborhood .
his religious upbringing , his childhood memories , and his military service shaped his deeply held notions of justice and equality .
while in the national guard , langan witnessed the demeaning effects of segregation on black soldiers and became determined to speak out against such injustices .
when he returned to mobile after the war , he found the city much changed by rapid industrialization of the shipbuilding industry and the expansion of the army air force base at brookley field .
the population also had increased dramatically , making mobile one of the most crowded cities in america .
incidents of racial violence had also increased during the war .
upon his return , langan began speaking out about the unequal treatment of blacks in mobile , particularly on city buses .
langan married maude adele holcombe in 1943 ; the couple had no children .
in 1946 , langan returned to the political arena and was elected to the alabama state senate .
as the only senator from mobile county , langan held a powerful position .
any new piece of legislation that affected the county had to win his approval before going forward to the legislature .
langan used his position to work toward improving the lives of white and black mobilians and was an early supporter of equalizing the salaries of white and black schoolteachers .
he was also a supporter of the candidacy of james e. folsom for governor and became one of folsom 's leading allies in the state senate after he became governor .
in 1945 , langan was among the strongest opponents of the boswell amendment , a state constitutional amendment aimed at disenfranchising black voters by implementing a vague `` understanding clause '' to all new voter registration applications .
registrants would have to explain any section of the u.s. constitution to a registrar 's satisfaction before being allowed to register .
the measure , langan and others argued , allowed white registrars to deny the applications of new black voters , thus violating the constitution .
langan 's opposition to the boswell amendment angered some segregationists in the alabama democratic party .
but he earned the support of civil rights leaders like john l. leflore , a mobile postman who had led the local branch of the national association for the advancement of colored people -lrb- naacp -rrb- since 1925 .
understanding that the local registrar 's office was the best route to registration for african americans , langan lobbied folsom to appoint e. j. `` gunny '' gonzales to a vacant seat on the mobile county board of registrars .
gonzales also opposed the boswell amendment and even testified for the plaintiffs in a court case that eventually declared the boswell amendment unconstitutional .
in 1949 , segregationists in the alabama legislature attempted to pass another version of the boswell amendment on the last day of the session .
langan led a 23-hour filibuster to defeat the new bill .
the following year , langan lost his senate seat to thomas johnston , a dixiecrat supporter with strong financial backing from old guard segregationists who were determined to oust langan .
after his defeat , langan accepted a commission from the u.s. army and returned to active service in korea , where he remained until 1952 .
in 1953 , langan won a seat on the mobile city commission , with the support of a large number of african americans who remembered his efforts to defeat the boswell amendment .
during his first term , langan sought to create a biracial coalition of citizens to discuss mobile 's racial problems .
these efforts earned him the respect of many white liberals and black mobilians .
langan 's support for civil rights still remained unpopular among some white mobilians , however .
in the 1957 election , he faced e. c. barnard , leader of the local ku klux klan .
this election also witnessed the introduction of `` pink sheets , '' informational leaflets endorsing candidates that were part of a campaign conducted by the non-partisan voters league , a local organization run by john leflore .
the league 's endorsement , combined with langan 's wide appeal among white voters , particularly catholics , swept him to an easy victory over barnard .
throughout the 1960s , as civil rights demonstrations erupted in montgomery , birmingham , and selma , mobile remained comparatively quiet .
langan continued to work with activists like spring hill college professor father albert foley and john leflore and oversaw moderate concessions , including the desegregation of downtown lunch counters , the public library , and the city-owned golf course .
langan also oversaw several large expansions of the city limits , increasing the size of mobile dramatically .
langan was easily reelected in 1961 , but in 1965 he faced his first real opposition from local businessman joseph bailey .
bailey 's own ties in the white community threatened to undermine lagan 's white support .
during that election , langan won by fewer than 1,500 votes , all of which came from the black community .
after 1966 , the political situation in mobile changed dramatically with the emergence of the neighborhood organized workers -lrb- now -rrb- , a civil and economic rights organization run by a group of younger african american activists who had grown tired of the moderate politics of black leaders like john leflore .
now also attacked langan and the other mobile commissioners for their slow response to problems in the black community .
now wanted to see more blacks in government and saw the relationship between langan and leflore as an outdated form of paternalism , a view many felt was confirmed when , in 1966 , langan appointed leflore as the first black member of the mobile housing board .
as the 1969 election neared , members of now organized a `` no vote '' campaign .
leflore attempted to fend off the action but was unsuccessful .
langan 's challenger was again joseph bailey , who ran a series of ads with photos of langan with john leflore in an attempt to show that the incumbent commissioner was too friendly with the civil rights leader .
combined with now 's boycott in the black wards , the campaign to unseat langan was successful ; bailey won by more than 1,000 votes .
langan used the remainder of his time on the commission to appoint several black citizens to city positions .
he would never again hold public office .
after his defeat , langan returned to his law practice .
during the late 1970s , he testified for the plaintiffs in bolden v. city of mobile , the landmark case filed by the non-partisan voters ' league that alleged mobile 's at-large election system was inherently discriminatory to african americans .
after a decade-long legal battle , the city 's form of government shifted to a mayor-council format .
in 1985 , langan ran for the newly created district two seat , which boasted a 70-percent african american majority .
he was defeated by charles tunstall , a local minister who became the first african american commissioner in the city 's history .
langan remained active in mobile for the rest of his life , particularly in the local exchange club and various catholic charities .
he suffered a stroke in february 2003 and never fully recovered ; he died on november 2 , 2004 , at the age of 92 .
he is entombed in the holy sepulcher mausoleum in mobile 's catholic cemetery .
in august 2009 , the city of mobile dedicated unity point park , a small public space located at the historic boundary between the white and black sections of town .
the park features a large bronze statue of joseph langan and john leflore standing together to honor their efforts in securing equality for all mobilians .
