Lawrence Brooks Hays was a politician and assumed that call with pride. Bom in London, Arkansas, in 1898, he was the only son of Steele Hays. Trained as a lawyer, he practiced law in Russellville in the early 1920s and began his political career serving first as Assistant Attorney General in Arkansas, 1925-1927. He served in the U. S. Congress, 1943-1959, and became embroiled in the Little Rock desegregation crisis of 1958. Hays is best remembered for his leadership in helping the poor and disadvantaged both as a public official and a private citizen. Brooks Hays served as Second Vice-President of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1951, and as President for two terms from 1957-1959. He was a member of the Social Service (Christian Life) Commission, SBC from 1948-1960.
This oral history interview was conducted by A. Ronald Tonks May, 1975 to October, 1977, in Washington, D.C. Hays talks about growing up in Arkansas, early memories of church life, college and law school days, his political career, his service in Congress, his tenure on the Christian Life Commission, his terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and his work with the Baptist World Alliance. Topics include: the Southern Baptist Convention, Baptist church life, Ku Klux Klan, Civil Rights movement, Democratic Party politics, and presidents of the United States from Franklin Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy.