Trent Lott

Chester Trent Lott, Sr. is a former Dixiecrat -turned Republican Senate Majority Leader from Mississippi.

In the early 1960s, Lott successfully led a campaign to keep blacks from joining his fraternity at not only the University of Mississippi but its national chapters as well. In 2002, Lott issued an apology after receiving criticism for a statement in which he appeared to support the segregationist position held by Strom Thurmond during the latter's 1948 presidential bid.

Lott unexpectedly retired after 35 years in Congress in 2007 at the age of 66. He's since reappeared as a lobbyist for a sanctioned company.