ATLANTA — Atlanta is mourning a lifelong civil rights advocate who helped Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders of the movement. Tom Houck was 79.
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His political activism began as a young man. According to his biography, Houck was expelled from high school in 1965 for marching in the Selma – Montgomery march.
He dedicated himself to political advocacy. A Massachusetts native, he moved to Atlanta at age 19 and worked with King and other civil rights leaders with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, becoming the youngest member of the group’s executive staff.
Houck served as King’s driver and personal assistant from 1966 until King’s assassination in 1968.
He was arrested several times while participating in demonstrations.
According to his biography, the suit he was involved in against Jefferson County, Alabama jails, Washington v. Lee in 1968, “resulted in a landmark U.S Supreme Court decision desegregating prisons across America.”
Houck was also instrumental in anti-war and anti-poverty demonstrations, as well as get out the vote efforts.
In the early 70s, he turned his attention to the 26th Amendment, to lower the voting age to 18. Houck served as field director for the Voter Education Project and deputy director of the Washington-based Youth Citizenship Fund.
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Houck served on the political campaigns of Andrew Young, Maynard Jackson, John Lewis and Zell Miller.
He moved into a career in journalism as a political pundit in the late 70s until 1991. He worked as a radio host, panelist on Georgia Gang for WSB-TV and Fox 5, and feature writer for local publications Atlanta Magazine and Creative Loafing.
He left journalism and started a public relations firm. In the 2000s, Houck dedicated himself to preserving civil rights history, giving bus tours as part of Civil Rights Tours Atlanta.
Atlanta City Council issued a statement Friday, lamenting his passing:
Tom Houck helped shape Atlanta, committing his life to advocating for voting rights for communities that were historically denied their right to share in our democracy. Generations of leaders relied on his support as the youngest member of the SCLC executive staff, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s driver, working alongside John Lewis and Julian Bond to mobilize minority voters throughout the South, and helping elect mayors, congressmembers, and governors.
Following his impactful political work, Tom became a trusted media presence, serving as regular panelist on ‘the Georgia Gang’ and hosting a must-listen radio show which elected officials frequently joined as guests. Tom was seemingly never ready to rest. In his later years, he was dedicated to preserving Atlanta’s civil rights history to ensure the causes he cared so deeply for would not fade away.
The entire Atlanta City Council is saddened by Mr. Houck’s passing, and we extend our deepest sympathy to his friends, family, and loved ones. To pay tribute to Mr. Houck’s tremendous contributions to Atlanta, the Atlanta City Council will hold a moment of silence at our next Full Council meeting on November 2.
— Atlanta City Council
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