Emory N. Jackson, c/o 1932

Emory Overton Jackson (1908-1975), was born in Buena Vista, GA. He attended Industrial High School (later renamed Parker High), graduating in 1928 and attended Morehouse College where he served as student government president and the editor of the college's newspaper, the Maroon Tiger. Jackson graduated in 1932 with a triple major in English, economics, and education.

Professionally, Jackson worked as a English teacher and basketball coach at Carter High School in Dothan, Alabama and Westfield High School in Birmingham, Alabama before joining the Birmingham World as a book reviewer in 1934. Jackson served in the Army during World War II. He was a voting rights advocate who used the Birmingham World to advance the cause of civil rights for African Americans during his forty year editorial leadership of the paper. At the paper, he challenged the discriminatory treatment of black veterans, Birmingham's discriminatory housing policy, and resistance to school desegregation within Alabama. He was the founder and first president of the Alabama State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a lifelong bachelor, and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated.

SIAC HALL OF FAME - 1998