Brother Smith was born April 16, 1903, in Texarkana, Texas, received a baccalaureate degree from Fisk University, a Master of Business degree from New York University, and did post-graduate work at Columbia University in economics and business law. Brother Smith's professional career was varied, including teaching in business administration in the Dallas School District, publishing the Dallas Express newspaper and other enterprises. He spent thirty-four years in Federal Service — Federal Housing Administration for equal opportunity with Housing and Urban Development. Among the most outstanding contributions to the Dallas community were his services as co-chairman of the Bi-racial Committee for the City of Dallas. He was a member of many national and local organizations, including the Chairman of the southwest area YMCA Council, local president of the Dallas Urban League, President of the National Alumni Association of Fisk University — and the pride of his heart — member of the Board of Directors of Bishop College, in Dallas. Brother Smith was a trustee and devoted member of the New Hope Baptist Church where funeral services were conducted December 22, 1977, in Dallas, with the Reverend Caesar A. W. Clark officiating. Many resolutions were presented at the last rites, and remarks made by the Mayor of the City of Dallas — the Honorable Robert Folsom, — Dr. J. K. Haynes, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Bishop College; Mr. Thomas Jenkins, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and by the Honorable Justice Thurgood Marshall, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. The School of Business Administration at Bishop College is being named in his memory, as well as a memorial scholarship fund being established at that institution. Brother Smith is survived by his loyal and devoted wife, Fannie; two sisters-in-law; and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends. Interment was at Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Dallas. We are reminded here of that childhood prayer:
k LOFTY OAK HAS FALLEN Tribute to — Brother Antonio Maceo Smith By Laurence T. Young Once again the grim reaper has attacked Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity reducing the ranks by one of our "greats." Brother ANTONIO MACEO SMITH was consigned to Omega Chapter December 19, 1977, in Dallas, Texas. Aside from being a national figure in Alpha Phi Alpha — having served as General President 1952—1954, he was a moving force in the alumni chapter in Dallas — Alpha Sigma Lambda which chapter served as Honorary Pall Bearers, representing Brother James R. Williams, the General President. Brother Smith's impact on the Fraternity will not soon be forgotten. He was elected General President at the 37th General Convention in Berkeley, California (1952), and leaves as a perpetual memorial the National Headquarters of Alpha Phi Alpha in Chicago, which project he engineered in 195253, and which was duly dedicated December, 1955. The Sphinx / Spring 1978
That simple prayer sort of epitomized the life of Brother A. Maceo Smith, in that he thought not of death, but of life, not of sleeping, but waking up quickly the next day with the sun blazing through windows like a trumpet of the dawn, the fragrance of coffee, and the voice of his wife, Fannie, at ease with each other, all seeming to welcome him to the celebration of another day. Brother Smith was'the bulwark of Black leadership in Dallas for many years. As Justice Marshall stated "he was ambitious, his energies could not be exhausted, he knew his own rights and those of his people and how to protect them. He was instrumental in raising funds for the NAACP to argue the 1944 case that won Blacks the right to vote in Texas primaries, he led the fight for equal salaries for Black and White teachers. He encouraged the Texas NAACP to file suit to force the state to admit Blacks to law schools." He too can be classified as a "Happy Warrior" and truly WORTHY he was of the many accolades, expressions, and resolutions so meaningfully expressed at his funeral rites. 11