Gerald Lyman Kenneth Smith is an American clergyman and political ally of Louisiana Senator Huey Long.
History[]
Early Life and Ministry[]
Gerald L.K. Smith was born on 27 February 1898 to Sarah and Lyman Z. Smith, a lower-middle class family. The descendent of three generations of Disciples of Christ ministers, he was ordained in 1916 and received a degree in biblical studies from Valparaiso University in Indiana in 1918. He began his ministry in small villages in the Midwest, where he converted hundreds and became an effective fundraiser before moving on to larger, richer churches in Illinois and Indiana.
Smith and his family moved to Shreveport, Louisiana in 1928 after his wife, Elna, contracted tuberculosis. He became minister at Kings Highway Disciples of Christ Church and began a series of radio broadcasts attacking local utility companies and business corruption while supporting trade unions.
Political Activism[]
Smith first became acquainted with then-Governor Huey Long in 1929, becoming a close associate and political ally. He resigned his ministry to work full-time for Long and helped to form the Share Our Wealth Society in February 1934, a national political organization consisting of thousands of local Share Our Wealth clubs. Smith traveled the South recruiting members to Share Our Wealth clubs to great success, and by 1935 the Society boasted 27,000 clubs with a membership of 4.6 million and a mailing list of over 7.5 million.
In addition to his aptitude for fundraising, Smith has also shown a willingness to embellish Long’s message in order to please a crowd. One infamous example came in 1934, when Smith claimed that Long supported the innocence of the Scottsboro Boys to a crowd in Mississippi, while in Scottsboro itself Smith claimed Long knew the boys were guilty. While Long continues to hold William Dudley Pelley’s Silver Legion at arm’s length, Smith himself has made contact with Pelley, although details of such a meeting are still obscure.