Atty. W. Harold Smith, a dynamic citizen of Hogansville, Georgia for most of his adult years, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on March 17, 1924 and departed this life on May 20, 2015, age 91. His citizenship in his hometown was legendary: a preferred attorney in the African American community for those in need of low-cost (or no cost) legal counsel, aid or advocacy. As a champion for social justice, “Harold” (as everyone knew him) was a founding member of the West Side Voters’ League and the Troup County Coalition—both advocacy agencies for black citizens of the tri-cities area in Troup: Hogansville, LaGrange and West Point, Georgia. He was also highly esteemed as a Deacon Emeritus of his family church in the Springfield Heights neighborhood of Hogansville, Springfield Baptist Church.

Atty. Smith was a Navy veteran (gunner’s mate) of the WWII era. Also a Morehouse College alumnus and a member of Phi Beta Sigma, he was the first descendent of his family to matriculate. He then went on to earn a political science M.A. at Atlanta University and a law degree at American University in Washington, D.C. His years of civil service with the federal government involved civil rights (Title IX) litigation and compliance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. During that time he also clerked with Atlanta’s celebrated civil rights attorney, Donald L. Hollowell. For his retirement years Atty. Smith engaged in various civic, educational and entrepreneurial projects, including his consulting and professional services offered through Smith Enterprises, LLC, now owned and operated by his youngest son, Disraeli W. Smith (supported by wife, Leah Henderson Smith and their two sons).

Other surviving family members include Atty. Smith’s wife of many years, the Rev. Dr. Josephine Jackson-Smith, and other sons, Theophus “Thee” Smith (and wife Vida O. Smith with their two adult children and grandchildren) and G. Winston Smith (and wife Elzadie B. Smith with their three adult children and grandchildren), and niece, Debra Hardaway (with daughter and grandchildren). Charitable gifts or donations may be made in his memory to the fund established for a deserving dance student at Spelman College in honor of one of his cherished granddaughters: the Ereina Christin Smith Memorial Scholarship Fund.