Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital of Mississippi as well as its largest city. In 1960, it had a population of 144,442, nearly 36 percent of which was Black. Jackson had a significant Black middle class made up of teachers, ministers, entrepreneurs, and other professionals. The city was also the homebase of the NAACP’s lone Mississippi field secretary, Medgar Evers, who worked closely with students from nearby Tougaloo College and Jackson State College. In the early sixties, young Blacks engaged in nonviolent direct action at segregated lunch counters and restaurants, and many went on to join SNCC’s voter registration projects in the state.
People
- Bob Moses
- Charles McLaurin
- Colia Liddell (Lafayette)
- Diane Nash
- Dorie Ladner
- George Greene
- Hazel Palmer
- James Bevel
- Jesse Harris
- Jesse Morris
- Jimmy Travis
- Joyce Ladner
- Medgar Evers
- Tom Gaither
- John O’Neal
