James P. Coleman

James Plemon Coleman ( born January 9, 1914 in Ackerman, Choctaw County, Mississippi, † September 29, 1991 ) was an American politician and 1956-1960 Governor of the State of Mississippi.

Early years and political rise

James Coleman attended the University of Mississippi and then studied until 1939 at the George Washington University law. Coleman also worked on the staff of Aaron L. Ford, who represented 1935-1942 the state of Mississippi in the U.S. House of Representatives. Between 1940 and 1946 Coleman was district attorney in the 5th district legal and 1946-1950 he was there judge. In between, he officiated in 1950 for a short time as a judge on his state Supreme Court. From 1950 to 1956 was Coleman Attorney General of the State of Mississippi. As a member of the Democratic Party, he attended between 1940 and 1956, the Democratic National Convention. In November 1955, Coleman was without an opposing candidate as the new governor of his state elected after he had been successful in the ballot of his party's primary against Paul B. Johnson.

Governor and federal judge

Coleman began his four-year term on 17 January 1956. The governor refused to merge the schools to all races. Instead, he left it against the will of the Federal Government in the old status of racial segregation. He violated aware of applicable federal law. But he fought for a new constitution and the industrial development of the state. The waterways and ports Mississippi were expanded.

After the end of his governorship Coleman remained politically active. Between 1960 and 1965 he was a delegate in the House of Representatives from Mississippi. In 1963 he ran again unsuccessfully for the governorship. Thereafter, he served from 1965 to 1984 as a judge on U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth District Court. Ex - Governor Coleman died in September 1991., With his wife Margaret Janet Dennis he had a child. The J. P. Coleman State Park near Iuka, Mississippi is named after him.