Albert J. Lingo

Albert J. Lingo (January 22, 1910 – August 19, 1969), also known as Al Lingo, was a career Alabama Highway Patrolman who served as Director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety from 1963 to 1965, including the turbulent early 1960s years marked by marches and demonstrations that characterized the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. South.[1] Lingo's service under Alabama governor George Wallace with regard to the Selma to Montgomery marches has been characterized in a negative light.[2] He resigned as director effective October 1, 1965,[3] and later ran for election to be sheriff of Jefferson County, Alabama.[4] Lingo died at age 59 on August 17, 1969.[5]

Albert J. Lingo
Born(1910-01-22)January 22, 1910
Clayton, Alabama
DiedAugust 17, 1969(1969-08-17) (aged 59)
Birmingham, Alabama
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipU.S.A.
OccupationAlabama Highway Patrolman
Known forDirector of the Alabama Department of Public Safety 1963-1965

Lingo was reportedly a member of the Ku Klux Klan[6] and was widely seen as a Klan-sympathizer.[7] Lingo was described by The New York Times editorial page editor Howell Raines as "an addled racist"[8] who derailed the state of Alabama's investigation into the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing due to either incompetence or in order to protect Robert Chambliss.[7]

References
  1. Civil Rights Digital Library: Biography of Albert J. Lingo, http://crdl.usg.edu/people/l/lingo_albert_j_1910/, Digital Library of Georgia, 2009.
  2. Bill Jones [William Grover Jones]: The Wallace Story, American Southern Publishing, Northport, Ala., 1966.
  3. "Col. Al Lingo Resigns", Montgomery [Ala.] Advertiser, September 17, 1965.
  4. "Lingo Bids For Negro Vote", Alabama Journal, April 13, 1966.
  5. "Ex-Trooper Chief, Lingo, Dies at 59", Birmingham Post-Herald, August 18, 1969, and "Ex-state official--Heart ailment fatal to Lingo", The Birmingham News, August 18, 1969, p. 24.
  6. Barber, Rev. Dr. William J., II; Wilson-Hartgrove, Jonathan (March 6, 2016). "It's not enough to disavow the Klan: Racists and Republicans have years of experience disavowing Klan, but supporting racist politics". Salon.com.
  7. Raines, Howell (July 24, 1983). "The Birmingham Bombing". The New York Times.
  8. Raines, Howell (July 13, 1997). "Rounding Up the 16th Street Suspects". The New York Times. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
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