In the Landrum family, the five children grew up knowing that “everybody is somebody” as it was a mantra of their parents. Tom and Anne Landrum raised their family in Laurel. They both worked in the Jones County Courthouse and were well-known members of the community. Tom, a football star himself, was a coach and mentored much of the youth in the area. The way the Landrums lived their lives caught the attention of one man specifically: an FBI agent, Bob Lee.
In the 1960s, the KKK still ruled behind closed doors in Mississippi with the White Knights in Laurel known as one of the most vicious of all sections. Tom found their actions horrifying and was very upset by the stories he was hearing. Lee befriended Tom and in 1965, he suggested that Tom enter the White Knights and become an FBI informant as he was the “perfect candidate.” With a young family and the especially violent section of the KKK, Tom said he’d have to discuss it with his wife knowing if he was discovered, he could very well lose his life and put his family in danger.
“Daddy was the type of man that was not afraid to stand alone ever,” Susan Landrum, their third child who was seven at the time, said. “He had no fear to do the right thing. His handshake meant everything. He was good, honest, solid and a family man.”
After talking with his wife and her mother, who he thought of as his own, they both agreed he should do it as he had the chance to take down the Klan’s hold on their city. For four to five years, Tom was in the KKK’s main circle and reported back to the FBI. He did this with the help of his wife. When he came home every night from their meetings, Tom sat with his wife who wrote down his account of the evening with the White Knights and their plans. Anne would take the writings to the courthouse the next day and type a transcription. She’d send one to Lee for the FBI and mail one to her mother to put in a safe deposit box in a bank in Jackson so they would also have a record of his work. Susan said there was no way Tom could have done it without her mother.
“They prayed about it and the bottom line was somebody had to do something and they needed to do the right thing,” Susan said. “You can only imagine in the four years what our parents went through. It was a very hard time for them. It was exhausting, and daddy never knew if he was going to come home and mama never knew if he’d come home.”
Tom’s work impacted his family, although no one, including his children, had any idea of the work he was doing with the FBI. It had to be that way for their safety. Susan said their oldest sister, Deborah, remembered wondering why Tom would stop at payphones instead of using the phone at home. It was for fear that they’d be listening through a third-party line. Northsider David Landrum, the second eldest child who was 10 at the time, recalled sleeping on the floor with their whole family because his father worried he’d been found out, and someone would shoot into the house. They didn’t know at that time why they slept on the floor but said instances like this came to mind when she later learned of her father’s work years.
“It is interesting when we look back at the different things that we did remember when connecting the dots,” Susan said. “Of course, house (slumber) parties on the floor were a huge thing.”
When Tom would tire of missing out on family events and of his work with the FBI, Anne would encourage him to keep going.
“She would say, ‘we have to hold strong’,” Susan said. “She was a rock in support because he really went through some times of just not knowing if they were going to hang him that night or burn the house down.”
Despite the stress of working undercover, Tom and Anne made sure to give their family normalcy as they could, and their main focus remained their children. David said they’d do fun things, such as camping, after the chores were done, and their parents made sure to invite others as well to pour into them. The Landrums camped all over America during their childhood — teaching the children about family, the simple things in life and the importance of supporting others.
“As kids, we never felt like we missed anything,” David said. “Our childhood growing up was just a blur of activity. Dad would teach us how to work and do our chores but he would say ‘Here’s what we are going to do this weekend.’ It was just special where we really felt like we were the Waltons.”
Tom passed away in 2019, but his legacy lives on in their family and in their traditions. While the family has spread out over the years, they still have their homestead in Laurel, which Tom and Anne started after retiring, and many ties to where they grew up. David isn’t far from home and resides in Madison, with his children, Tommy and Candice Landrum and Lauren and Walt Bowie and grandkids Lake Landrum and Fenley and Emerson Bowie nearby. Susan lives in Destin but cares for their mother Anne — now 87 years old — and runs the homestead in Laurel with 85 buildings on the property. Their other siblings also live in Laurel.
Tom’s mindset of “everybody is somebody” continued into their holiday celebrations. David remembers never knowing who would show up for holiday gatherings, whether it was friends, family, or someone who didn’t have anywhere to go.
“The thing about our household growing up is it didn’t matter who you were,” Susan said. “They always had unconditional love to where it was an open invitation for anyone for fellowship and to break bread. Mama and Daddy didn’t have much in the cupboard, but it was amazing what they could pull together. Through the years, people still know it is a standing invitation. It is sweet because you just don’t see that much these days.”
Everyone returns to the Landrum’s Homestead and Village, where their parent’s house was originally built over 60 years ago, each year for Thanksgiving traditions, and it isn’t just the Landrum family that attends. The Landrums grew up knowing that anyone and everyone was welcome in their home and this still stands today. It could be anywhere from 35 to 50 people for dinner so they always make plenty of food.
“We are continuing on his legacy,” Susan said. “It is so painful when you lose such a powerful force in your life. As mama says, he is in the best place and we rest in that. We have a very strong faith. We are definitely carrying on the legacy through us, through our traditions and through our homestead as our parent’s history.”
While Tom has left a legacy of being the brave informant that assisted in taking down a KKK organization responsible for brutal killings and many living in terror, his true legacy is of the man he was and the impact he had on those around him. Tom and Anne’s actions have had a ripple effect through their family.
“Daddy always said he’d never have a monument in his name but his children are his monument,” Susan said. “I don’t know how we could be more proud of our parents.”
