Howard Carwile

Howard Carwile
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates
from the 35th district
In office
January 9, 1974 – January 14, 1976
Preceded by William F. Reid
Succeeded by Gerald L. Baliles
Personal details
Born Howard Hearnes Carwile
November 14, 1911
Charlotte, Virginia, U.S.
Died June 6, 1987 (aged 75)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Political party Independent
Spouse(s) Violet Talley
Alma mater Alma White College
Southeastern University

Howard Hearnes Carwile (November 14, 1911 – June 6, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician.

Family

Howard Carwile was born in Charlotte County, Virginia, to parents Willis Early Carwile (May 6, 1873 - May 10, 1950) and Allie Taylor (July 2, 1887 - November 23, 1968), they were tenant tobacco farmers. Howard was one of 13 children. He married Violet Virginia Talley (January 28, 1918 – October 21, 1994), daughter of John C. Talley (May 8, 1882 - ?) and Virginia Magnetta Cullingsworth (March 27, 1895 - Feb. 1986).

Howard and Violet had one son, Howard H. Carwile, Jr., and one grandchild, Taylor Lane Carwile.

Both Howard and Violet died in Richmond, Virginia. He is the great-great-grandson of Jacob Carwile, an American Revolutionary War soldier.

Education

Background

Howard Carwile was known as a fiery, passionate trial attorney in Richmond, Virginia. He opposed the Byrd Organization in his early years, a machine of Conservative Democrats led by Harry Flood Byrd which dominated Virginia's politics from the 1920s until the mid-1960s.

Carwile represented many black clients as a trial lawyer in the 1940s through 1960s in Richmond. He was an ever-vigilant watchdog over the Richmond Police Department and champion for reform of Virginia's prisons and a general political gadfly. He was known for his colorful rhetoric in public, such as calling a city-hall boondoggle he disliked a "horrendous heap of hokum" and his campaign style, including an automobile completely covered in Carwile bumper-stickers. He was appreciated by Richmonders for his verbal theatrics, and in the 1970s it was not uncommon to hear someone say he or she was "shocked and appalled", a frequent Carwile exclamation. A collection of his papers is housed in the Special Collections and Archives section of the library of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Government offices held

Served on Virginia House committees:

Memberships

Published and broadcast works

“ Clean up City Hall - every crevice and crack;

Purge the parasite and liquidate the quack.
Carwile in Council will be something new;
He will represent all but the privileged few."
"The Taxpayers Candidate"

 ”

—Howard Carwile, From his handbill as an unsuccessful candidate for Richmond City Council in 1962

External links