Lamar Smith, a 63-year-old farmer and World War I veteran, was a voting rights activist and a member of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL). On August 2, he voted in the primary and helped get others out to vote. There was a run-off primary scheduled for August 23. On August 13, Smith was at the courthouse helping other black voters to fill out absentee ballots so they could vote in the runoff without exposing themselves to violence at the polls. He was shot to death in front of the courthouse in Brookhaven, Lincoln County, at around 10 a.m.