Richie Jean Jackson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richie Jean Sherrod (1932-08-30)August 30, 1932 Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | November 10, 2013(2013-11-10) (aged 81) Mobile, Alabama, U.S. |
| Other names | Jean Jackson |
| Alma mater | Alabama State College;University of Montevallo |
| Occupation(s) | Author, teacher, and civil rights activist |
| Movement | Civil Rights Movement Peace movement |
| Spouse | Dr. Sullivan Jackson |
| Children | Jawana Virginia Jackson |
| Parent(s) | John W. Sherrod and Juanita Richardson Sherrod |
Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson (néeSherrod; August 30, 1932 – November 10, 2013),[1] was an American author, teacher, and civil rights activist.
Jackson was born inMobile, Alabama, as the only child of John W. and Juanita Richardson Sherrod.[2] She was a childhood friend ofCoretta Scott King.[2][3] She attended and graduated from Cardoza High School in Washington, D.C. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education atAlabama State College, and a Masters of Education at theUniversity of Montevallo.[2] She was married to Dr. Sullivan Jackson.[3] They had one child, a girl named Jawana Virginia Jackson.[4]
In February 1964,Martin Luther King Jr.,Southern Christian Leadership Conference staff, and members of Congress met for strategy sessions to plan theSelma to Montgomery marches in Jackson'sSelma, Alabama home.[5][6] After the first attempted march on March 7, 1965 (known asBloody Sunday),Assistant U. S. Attorney GeneralJohn Doar andFlorida GovernorLeRoy Collins, the latter of whom was there representing PresidentLyndon Johnson, met with King and others at Jackson's house.[5][7] This led to a second attempt at a voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, and finally a third and successful attempt.[5][8] It was also in Jackson's home that Martin Luther King Jr. watched Lyndon Johnson give hisVoting Rights Act Address on March 15, 1965.[3][9]
Jackson wrote a memoir,The House by the Side of the Road: The Selma Civil Rights Movement, which was published in 2011 by TheUniversity of Alabama Press.[6] A tribute to her life was delivered in the U.S. House of Representatives by Alabama representativeTerri Sewell in 2013.[6] In 2014, her house, known as theSullivan and Richie Jean Jackson House, was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[5] Also in 2014,Niecy Nash played Jackson in the historical drama filmSelma, directed byAva DuVernay.[10]
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