On this day in Alabama history: Emory O. Jackson was born in Georgia
Emory O. Jackson, right, joined the NAACP in Birmingham after his service in the U.S. Army during World War II. His civil rights movement activities focused on registering African American voters and making changes in law through federal courts and the state legislature. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute)
September 8, 1908
Emory O. Jackson was born in Buena Vista, Georgia. Raised in Birmingham, the civil rights leader served as the editor of the Birmingham World, the largest black paper in Alabama, from 1941 to 1975. He gained a regional following through his syndicated column, “The Tip Off,” which he used to advocate for civil rights and social justice. He joined the Birmingham chapter of the NAACP after serving in World War II, founded the organization’s state conference, and led the challenge against local zoning laws that relegated African-Americans to certain neighborhoods. In 2012, a plaque honoring Jackson’s memory was installed outside of his former office in Birmingham.
Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.
Civil rights leaders Emory O. Jackson, left, and Benjamin Mays, who was a mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. before the modern civil rights movement. Jackson was a voting rights activist and editor of the Birmingham World who founded the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, Courtesy of Birmingham Civil Rights Institute)
For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.
