Jackson's Black History Isn't Past: It's Still Being Written
Jackson's Black history is not confined to museum walls or archival footage.
It's on Sunday mornings at church, late nights on Farish Street, student rallies on campus, and neighborhood meetings where everyday people dare to imagine something better.
Jacksonians have long refused to accept limits on their lives, their art, or their future, and that determination still guides how residents show up for one another.
Legacy Built on Courage: Medgar and Myrlie Evers
Medgar and Myrlie Evers turned their home into a strategic hub for freedom work—organizing boycotts, challenging segregation, and coordinating voter registration beyond the city. When Evers was assassinated at home, it shook the nation and intensified the struggle.
Myrlie Evers transformed her pain into sustained activism and national leadership, ensuring the Evers name stands for courage and persistence. Today, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument invites visitors to connect with both the cost and promise of their legacy.
Breaking Barriers: James Meredith and Educational Justice
James Meredith's courage and the support he received from Evers and the NAACP Defense Fund forced the University of Mississippi to open its doors to Black students. Many people remember Meredith as the first Black student admitted, but forget that gaining admittance required several legal battles. In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the university to admit him, directly challenging Mississippi's segregation system. Even after his admission, Meredith needed constant federal protection, facing daily hostility, isolation, and threats.
Grassroots Power: Fannie Lou Hamer's Political Revolution
As struggles mounted, voices like Fannie Lou Hamer's thundered. She was "sick and tired of being sick and tired." She used her disappointment to reshape how this state—and this city—thought about Black political power. Fired from the plantation and evicted from her home for attempting to vote, Hamer refused to back down. She became a field organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), encouraging thousands of Black Mississippians to claim their voting rights despite threats and violence.
Their determination laid the groundwork for new generations of activists, organizers, and visionaries rooted in Jackson's neighborhoods.
From Civil Rights to Community Health: Ongoing Leadership
Later, leaders continued to shape Jackson's story. In the decades that followed, figures like Dr. Aaron Shirley pushed the movement into hospitals and clinics, helping build community health models that treated dignity as a vital sign. In the policy arena, Congressman Bennie Thompson has worked to secure resources, protections, and investments that help Jackson's residents weather storms—both literal and political—and hold on to what they've built.
Living History: Jackson's Black Community Today
Today, the impact of this history is unmistakable. Local innovators expand voting access, support young entrepreneurs, and bring tech, arts, and wellness to overlooked communities. From business owners revitalizing storefronts to advocates fighting for cleaner water to culture-makers sharing stories globally, Jackson's Black history continues today.
