James E. Jackson

James Edward Jackson Jr. (November 29, 1914 – September 1, 2007) was an American Civil rights activist and Communist Party USA official. He was also a defendant in Dennis v. United States.

Jackson was born on November 29, 1914, in the Jackson Ward of Richmond, Virginia, to pharmacist James and Clara Kersey Jackson. He was the first African American in Richmond to become an Eagle Scout.^[1] In 1931, at age 16, he studied at Virginia Union University, graduating with a degree in chemistry. He also studied pharmacology at Howard University, where he helped organize the Southern Negro Youth Congress^[2] in his senior year. In 1938,^[3] he led group strikes which involved as many as 5,000 tobacco workers—primarily women—^[4]who were paid only $5 per week.^[5]

Jackson was a contributor to Gunnar Myrdal's An American Dilemma. He also worked closely with W. E. B. Du Bois, with Jackson being interviewed for David Levering Lewis' biography of Du Bois.^[3] He went on to work at Fisk University, where he met his future wife, Esther Cooper Jackson. During World War II, he served in an all-black engineer unit, helping restore the Burma Road.^[4] He served for eighteen months, and was a sergeant by the time of his retirement.^[6]

In 1947, he joined the Communist Party USA^[4] and chaired the Communist Party of Louisiana later that year. After attempting to unionize maritime workers, he fled the state to avoid a possible assassination.^[3] Later in 1947, Jackson led the union of the Ford River Rouge complex. He and Esther—leader of the Michigan branch of the Civil Rights Congress at the time—lived in Detroit with Coleman Young, who went on to serve as the city's first African American mayor.^[3]

In 1951, Jackson was a defendant in Dennis v. United States. A black liberationist, he was one of 21 indicted by the Smith Act for advocating for the overthrow of the United States Government. He and five other indictees hid from the government until they surrendered in 1956.^[5] During their trials, Esther established the James E. Jackson Defense Committee,^[3][7] and following Yates v. United States in 1957, all indictments were unanimously reversed in the court of appeals in 1958.^[4][1]

In 1952, Jackson was appointed Southern secretary of the party. He edited the party's newspaper in the early 1960s and was later appointed International Affairs Secretary, followed by National Educational Director.^[4][1]

In 1985, Jackson received the Joliot-Curie gold medal.^[8]

Jackson retired following the Communist Party's 1991 split.^[6] After retiring, Jackson lived in Brooklyn. He died on September 1, 2007, aged 92, in Manhattan.^[4]

• Revolutionary Tracings (1974, International Publishers)

• Communist Party USA and African Americans

• James Jackson Jr. at the African American Registry