Former Rep. Calvin Smyre will be first from Columbus to achieve rare honor in Georgia
Retired state Rep. Calvin Smyre of Columbus, who was the longest-serving Georgia legislator when he completed his 48-year political career in 2022, will be given a rare honor.
His portrait will be hung in the Georgia Capitol. The ceremony, open to the public, was postponed due to the snow storm that hit the region. It now is scheduled to be conducted Jan. 28, starting at 4 p.m., in the Georgia House of Representatives Chamber.
There are 233 portraits, sculptures and other memorials celebrating notable Georgians at the capitol, but Smyre will be the first from Columbus and only the seventh African American with such a distinction – including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Smyre, 77, was the youngest member of the Georgia House at age 26 when he was first elected in 1974. Five years later, his colleagues elected him as chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, and he was elected president of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Official in 1982.
Then-Gov. Joe Frank Harris appointed Smyre as assistant administrative floor leader in 1983. Three years later, Harris appointed him as administrative floor leader — the first Black representative in that position.
Smyre made more history in 1985, when he became the first Black official from Georgia to be elected to the Democratic National Committee.
During his time in the Georgia House, Smyre held several additional leadership positions, including chairman of the Minority Caucus, the Rules Committee, the University System of Georgia Committee and the Industrial Relations Committee.
Smyre is credited with authoring historic legislation, such as making King Jr.’s birthday a state holiday and creating the Georgia Dome. He co-sponsored the bill that created a new state flag, eliminating the Confederate emblem. He also was instrumental in the passage of a new state hate crimes law in 2020.
How this honor for Calvin Smyre came about
State Rep. Carolyn Hugley of Columbus, who started her tenure as the Democratic leader in the Georgia House when the 2025 legislative session opened this week, told the Ledger-Enquirer this idea to honor Smyre originated two years ago, when members of the Columbus delegation approached then-Georgia House Speaker David Ralston.
Ralston got the request approved by the Capitol’s commission before he died in November 2022, but renovations to the building delayed the process.
“Now everything is settled back down, and we’re able to get this done,” Hugley said. “We’re so thankful to Speaker (Jon) Burns and his team for agreeing to move forward with the hanging of the portrait.”
Smyre’s portrait will be hung in a prominent position immediately outside the House chamber, next to the anteroom for visitors.
And when those visitors see Smyre’s portrait during their tour of the capitol, Hugley hopes they will hear some of the life lessons the former dean of the Georgia House espoused.
“Calvin would be the first to say he didn’t do the things he was able to do alone, so he’d say that if you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he didn’t get there by himself,” Hugley said. “Calvin also would say it’s not where you begin but there you get, and all flowers don’t bloom at the same time.”
Smyre often told the story about walking into Columbus Bank and Trust’s headquarters on Broadway in 1976. He had lost his job at the end of the 1975 legislative session and was struggling financially. CB&T executive Jimmy Blanchard offered him a job, and Smyre worked for the company that became Synovus for 38 years before retiring in 2014 as an executive vice president.
Columbus artist Steven Tette, who painted the oil-on-canvas portrait of Smyre, told the Ledger-Enquirer he was honored that Hugley asked him to accept such a prestigious opportunity.
“It’s incredible,” said Tette, who earned associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Columbus State University. “… When I walked around the capitol, I looked at paintings there that are 50 years old, 75 years old, 100 years old, and to think that something I would create would be hanging next to something that was already older than even my oldest relative, it’s kind of awe inspiring.”
Smyre didn’t pose for the portrait, but Tette used several photos of Smyre at different stages of his life to paint what he called a composite in one image that represents the former representative.
“I wanted it to be stately,” he said.
Tette painted Smyre in a symbolic pose because he wanted the portrait to emit a feeling of stability as an homage to Smyre’s political career spanning parts of six decades.
“The most stable shape in nature is the pyramid,” Tette said, “so I posed him in the shape of a triangle.”
In a text message to the Ledger-Enquirer, Smyre wrote, “Words can not adequately describe how I feel! It’s one of the highest honors to have your portrait hung in the GA State Capitol. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this would occur.
“When I was first elected in 1974, there were only two African American portraits in the State Capitol. . . . I am humbled and deeply touched. . . . So many (present and past) have played a role in my life for me to achieve this honor & recognition. . . . I am so grateful!”
This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 10:49 AM.
