Ida Louise Jackson

Ida Louise Jackson (October 12, 1902 – March 8, 1996) was an American educator and philanthropist.

Ida Louise Jackson
Ida Louise Jackson, from a 1942 publication.
BornOctober 12, 1902
Vicksburg, Mississippi
DiedMarch 8, 1996
NationalityAmerican
OccupationEducator, philanthropist

Early life and education

Ida Louise Jackson was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the daughter of Pompey Jackson and Nellie Jackson.[1] Her father was a farmer and a pastor.[2] She attended Rust College as a boarding student, and trained as a teacher at Dillard University in New Orleans, earning her certificate in 1917. She moved to California with her mother in 1918, and needed further training to teach, so she earned a bachelor's degree in 1922, and master's degree in 1923, at the University of California in Berkeley. She founded Berkeley's chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, which was the school's first black sorority.[3][4] She pursued further studies at Columbia University during a year's leave in the 1930s.[2]

Career

Jackson became the first black woman to teach high school in California,[5][6] and the first African-American teacher in Oakland's public schools in 1925.[7] For most of her teaching career, she taught history at McClymonds High School.[4] She helped launch Negro History Week in California in 1934.[8] Jackson was founder and general director of the Mississippi Health Project, a system of mobile clinics addressing health needs in rural Mississippi in the 1930s.[4] She also founded a summer school for Mississippi teachers,[9] and a low-cost dental clinic in Oakland. She retired from teaching in Oakland in 1953, to run her family's sheep ranch in Mendocino County.[3][10]

Jackson served a term as national president of Alpha Kappa Alpha from 1934 to 1937,[11][12] and a brief term as Dean of Women at the Tuskegee Institute, from 1937 to 1938.[4] In 1936, she and Dr. Dorothy Ferebee were guests of Eleanor Roosevelt at the White House, and discussed various issues with her, including health, federal jobs, and railway discrimination.[13] She was active in the NAACP, the YWCA, and the National Council of Negro Women.[10] Published works by Jackson included The Development of Negro Children in Reference to Education (1923, her master's thesis) and Librarians' Role in Creating Racial Understanding (1944).

In 1971, Jackson received the Berkeley Citation award.[10] She gave an oral history interview for the Bancroft Library in 1984 and 1985, for their series of interviews on early black alumni of the University of California.[2]

Personal life and legacy

Ida Louise Jackson died in 1996, aged 93. In the 1970s, she donated property to Berkeley to fund fellowships for African-American doctoral students. Her papers are in the Bancroft Library. In 2004, a graduate housing complex at Berkeley was named for Jackson.[3][14]

References
  1. Smith, Jessie Carney (1992). Notable Black American Women. VNR AG. pp. 320–323. ISBN 978-0-8103-9177-2.
  2. Morris, Gabrielle (1984–1985). "Overcoming Barriers in Education, Ida Louise Jackson". Bancroft Library, Regional Oral History Office. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  3. Corten, Richard (May 5, 2004). "Graduate dorm named for a woman of many firsts". UC Berkeley News. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  4. "Oakland Teacher Helps 'Home Folks' to Happiness". Oakland Tribune. 1953-02-08. p. 29. Retrieved 2020-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "She Lit a Candle". Black World/Negro Digest. Johnson Publishing Company. November 1968. pp. 43–46.
  6. Who's who in Colored America. Who's Who in Colored America Corporation. 1942. pp. 274–275.
  7. Dickerson, Sean (October 23, 2018). "Remembering Ida L. Jackson [1906-1996] A Reflection". Oakland Public Library. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  8. "AKA PRESIDENT INAUGURATES NEGRO HISTORY WEEK ON THE COAST 2-24-1934 PG 9". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1934-02-24. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "AKA Basilius May Ask Sorors to Aid in Rural School Conditions". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1934-01-20. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Ho, Stella (2019-02-08). "Reflecting on the life of education pioneer Ida L. Jackson". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  11. "Dr. Ida Louise Jackson". Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; Alpha Nu Omega. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
  12. "Ida L. Jackson to Head the A. K. A.'s". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1933-08-26. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "A. K. A. Sorors Visit Mrs. Roosevelt; Discuss Health Project and Railway Discrimination". The Pittsburgh Courier. 1936-02-01. p. 8. Retrieved 2020-02-27 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Ida L. Jackson Graduate House Apartments". Housing, Berkeley. Retrieved 2020-02-27.
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