James E. Jackson | |
|---|---|
%2c_Harlem%2c_New_York._1941.png) Jackson in 1941 | |
| Born | James Edward Jackson Jr. (1914-11-29)November 29, 1914 |
| Died | September 1, 2007(2007-09-01) (aged 92) Manhattan, New York City, US |
| Alma mater | Virginia Union University Howard University |
| Political party | Communist Party USA (1947–1991) |
| Spouse | |
| Relatives | Alice Jackson Stuart (sister) Esther Georgia Irving Cooper (mother-in-law) |
James "Jack"Edward Jackson Jr. (November 29, 1914 – September 1, 2007) was an Americancivil rights activist and official in theCommunist Party USA. He was also a defendant inDennis v. United States.
Jackson's parents were James Jackson Sr. and Clara Kersey Jackson. James Sr. was aHoward University graduate and businessman who was the second pharmacist in the history of Richmond. Clara also attended Howard, studying music as part of one of the Brown's first classes accepting women. On December 14, 1905, Clara and James married each other.[1]
Jackson was born on November 29, 1914, in theJackson Ward ofRichmond, Virginia. Of his five siblings—two dying as children, his sister wasAlice Jackson Stuart, who went on to become an educator. He was raised in a progressive environment, with him present as his members of his community planned protests in the back room of his father's pharmacy. He readW. E. B. Du Bois growing up, including his newspaper columnAs the Crow Flies inThe Crisis.[1]
Jackson was middle-class, though attended schools alongside the children of impoverished tobacco workers. He gained interests in art and academics throughout his schooling. He attendedArmstrong High School and designed its yearbook in his senior year there.[1] He was a member of theBoy Scouts of America and the first African American member in Virginia, as well as the first African American in Richmond to become anEagle Scout.[1][2] At the ceremony for the rank, Virginia GovernorJohn Garland Pollard tossed the badge at Jackson, as opposed to the handshakes he gave the white Scouts. Following the event, he requested toJames E. West that the Scouts be desegregated, and resigned from the organization when his request was denied.[1]
Jackson graduated high school at age 16, then enrolled atVirginia Union University in February 1931 and studied chemistry, achieving average grades. He began his activism, being elected student body president of the freshman class. In the second quarter of 1931, he was chosen to attend aYMCA conference inKings Mountain, North Carolina. There, he met CommunistJunius Scales, which led Jackson to joining theCommunist Party USA by the third quarter of 1931.[1][3]
He also studied pharmacology atHoward University, where cofounded theSouthern Negro Youth Congress[4] and served as its Executive Director.[3] In 1938, he – alongside theCongress of Industrial Organizations – led group strikes which involved as many as 5,000 tobacco worlers who were paid $5 per week.[3][5][6][7]
Jackson was a founding member of theNational Negro Congress, having attended its February 1936 conference inChicago.[1] He contributed toGunnar Myrdal'sAn American Dilemma, as an investigator. To contribute, he traveled toNashville, Tennessee, where he metEsther Cooper Jackson; they married in 1941 and moved toBirmingham, Alabama.[3]
Jackson worked closely withW. E. B. Du Bois, with Jackson later being interviewed forDavid Levering Lewis'biography of Du Bois.[6] He went on to work atFisk University, where he met his future wife,Esther Cooper Jackson. DuringWorld War II, he served in an all-black engineer unit, helping restore theBurma Road.[7] He served for eighteen months, and was asergeant by the time of his retirement.[8]
Following the war, Jackson and Esther moved to Louisiana. There, he chaired the Communist Party of Louisiana.[6][7] After attempting to unionize maritime workers, he fled the state to avoid a possible assassination.[3][6] Later in 1947, he led the union of theFord River Rouge complex. He and Esther—leader of the Michigan branch of theCivil Rights Congress at the time—lived in Detroit withColeman Young, who went on to serve as the city's first African American mayor.[6]
In 1951, Jackson was a defendant inDennis v. United States. Ablack liberationist, he was one of 21indicted by the Smith Act for advocating the overthrow of the United States Government. He and five other indictees hid from the government until they surrendered to attorneyPaul W. Williams in 1955, and was held for a $20,000 bond.[9] During their trials, Esther established the James E. Jackson Defense Committee.[6][10] FollowingYates v. United States in 1957, all indictments were unanimously reversed in the court of appeals in 1958.[7][2]
In 1952, Jackson was appointed Southern secretary of the Communist Party. He edited its newspaper in the early 1960s and was later appointed International Affairs Secretary, followed by National Educational Director.[7][2] He also served as Chief of Southern Affairs in the early 1950s.[9][11] He attended21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1959. He was questioned by authorities upon his return, and hepled the Fifth Amendment 88 times.[12] In 1962, he and fellow CPUSA memberPhilip Bart were sentenced to six month of jail forcontempt of court in a trial againstBenjamin J. Davis Jr. andGus Hall.[13]
Jackson retired following the Communist Party's split in 1991.[8] After retiring, he moved toBrooklyn. He died on September 1, 2007, aged 92, inManhattan.[7] His papers are held by theNew York Public Library.[14]