August 26, 1979

Bruce Bennett died after a ten-year struggle with throat cancer. As attorney general of Arkansas, Bennett authored legislation to bypass federal desegregation orders, including acts against the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Bennett asserted that communist influence underlay the racial unrest in Arkansas. Later in his career, he became infamous for his part in the securities fraud scandal involving the Arkansas Loan and Thrift.