Perry Wilbon Howard II

Biography

Perry Wilbon Howard II (June 14, 1877 – February 1, 1961), also known as Perry Wilbon Howard, Jr., or usually Perry W. Howard, was an American attorney from Mississippi and partner of a prominent law firm in Washington, D.C. He served as the longtime Republican National Committeeman from the U.S. state of Mississippi from 1924 to 1956, even as he conducted his career in the capital. He was appointed in 1923 as United States Special Assistant to the Attorney General under Warren G. Harding, serving also under Calvin Coolidge, and into Herbert Hoover's administration, resigning in 1928. Howard was twice tried on corruption-related charges stemming from his effective control over Republican patronage in Mississippi; he was black but was acquitted both times by all-white juries that feared the threat of white Republicans more than they worried about patronage issues.

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