Joseph Jackson Jr., Local Civil Rights Hero, Recognized by Anaheim City Council
Joseph Jackson Jr., an Anaheim resident and living civil rights hero, is finally getting overdue attention for being a member of the Tougaloo Nine. The story of the March 27, 1961 sit-in he participated in at the whites-only Jackson, Mississippi municipal library has been told in the OC Weekly, on the floor of Congress by Loretta Sanchez and now at Anaheim city council. The Tuesday evening presentation recognizing Jackson for his civil rights activism had been set in motion a month ago, but its timing couldn't be more necessary.
"This past weekend, as you all know, we had an incident at Pearson Park that showed a picture of Anaheim that I don't believe is accurate," mayor Tom Tait said referring to Saturday's bloody Ku Klux Klan melee. He mentioned Monday's peace march in response to it before introducing Jackson's story of striking a blow to Jim Crow segregation. "Imagine the courage it took back then to defy that," the mayor added, before turning the microphone over to Jackson.
"I suppressed this story for almost 55 years," Jackson said. Only since last year, did his historical role in the Tougaloo Nine resurface with my cover story and since then invitations to speak and honor Jackson have been pouring in. "In 2016, I've been very, very busy," he beamed. In retelling his civil rights story at council, Jackson mentioned how he heard Medgar Wiley Evers speak at a rally while attending Tougaloo College in Mississippi.
"I joined the NAACP Youth Council, and for some reason, they elected me president," he laughed. "Now when they elect you president, you really can't back out!" Evers helped shape the plan for the segregated library read-in. When the time came for Jackson and eight other Tougaloo College students to carry it through, a huge celebration for the centennial of the Confederacy took place just a few blocks away.
Jackson mentioned how police arrested the students and hauled them off to jail. Though bond had been posted, the sheriff left them alone in their jail cells overnight. With Mississippi's history of mob violence and lynching, Jackson feared for his life. But everyone eventually got released the next day. History had been made and the civil rights movement got a kick start before the Freedom Riders came to Mississippi.
It's sad that 55 years after Jackson's heroism, the Ku Klux Klan can still spark mayhem, especially here in Anaheim, but his life experiences serve as inspiration for a better world. "Thank you for listening to my story about the Tougaloo Nine," Jackson concluded at council, "And our struggle in the civil rights movement for equality and human dignity." The chambers erupted in applause.
Listen to my From the Vault special with Joseph Jackson Jr. on the history of the Tougaloo Nine.
