Alice Jackson

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Portrait shot of Alice Jackson. Photo from Joyce Vaughan.

Alice Carlotta Jackson Stuart (June 2, 1913June 13, 2001) was the first African American to apply to the University of Virginia. When she did so in 1935, it eventually prompted changes to admission policies. [1] Her papers were donated to the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library in 2004.

Biography

Jackson was born on June 2, 1913 to Dr. James E. Jackson and Clara Louise Kersey at her father's drugstore in Richmond. Her father worked as a pharmacist in the Jackson Ward district of the city, with both him and Jackson's mother being college-educated themselves. Jackson attended two American Baptist home mission schools, Hartshorn Memorial College and Virginia Union University, a historically black educational institution. During her time at the latter school, she was also a charter member of Virginia State College's Delta Sigma Theta chapter. In 1934, she received her bachelor's degree in English from Virginia Union. She later attended Smith College (an all-women's school) in Northampton, Massachusetts, on a graduate scholarship. Although she planned to work towards a master's degree in French, she was forced to return to Richmond a year later as she could no longer afford the tuition.

In August 1935, Jackson became the first black applicant to the University of Virginia. Planning to pursue a master's degree in French at the school, her application was denied on the basis of race and "other good and sufficient reasons," according to the September 20, 1935 issue of the Richmond-Times Dispatch. Although the school board refused to elaborate on the precise reasons for the rejection of her application, the minutes of a meeting between the rector, Frederic W. Scott, and the board of visitors suggested that her application was turned down due to it being an established policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia to segregate white and black students at different schools.

The rejection of Jackson's application quickly became a controversial subject among the wider public, with various African-American and student associations throughout the state taking a stance on the issue. Upon seeking counsel from the Richmond chapter of the NAACP, the organization threatened court action on her behalf. The National Student League (NSL) published a highly-circulated letter to the Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia and President John Newcomb, criticizing their actions in rejecting Jackson. The attention brought to the matter would directly lead to changes in education policies within the state.

In the face of prolonged and expensive litigation, the Commonwealth offered Jackson a scholarship to attend Columbia University in New York. In 1936, she continued her graduate studies at Columbia and earned a master's degree in English and comparative literature. After graduating in 1937, she devoted the next 50 years to teaching at several black colleges (including Howard University) as well as in various public schools. During this time, she taught at Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, Florida. In 1983, she retired as a professor of English at Middlesex County College.[2]

In early June 2001, Jackson's grandson graduated from Harvard University with a degree in sociology. Although she was not able to attend the ceremony herself, Jackson's grandson brought his diploma home to show it to her. She died a week later, on June 13, 2001 at the age of 88.

Personal life

Jackson was the oldest of three surviving children. She married her first husband, Julian Towns Houston, Sr., in April 1940, with the couple having a son named Julian Towns Houston, Jr. together. He would later go on to become a superior court judge in Massachusetts, describing his mother as someone who was "comfortable in the black community and the white community ... as comfortable with people on the street as she was with people in high places." On November 12, 1960 Jackson married her second husband, Dr. James Earle Stuart.[3]

Legacy

Although it would not be until 1950 that the University of Virginia admitted a black student to studies at the graduate level, Jackson's efforts to continue her education at the school would directly motivate changes in education policies within the state. By resolution of the Virginia General Assembly, African-American students were provided with separate-but-equal higher educational institutions, with the Virginia State Board of Education creating a graduate school for African-Americans at Virginia State University in Petersburg in 1935. In February 1936, House Bill 470 (known as the Dovell Act) was passed, promising to pay qualified black applicants the additional amount of tuition and travel expenses required to attend schools outside the state offering similar courses of study. Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled that Virginia's grant program was unconstitutional and the state's public colleges were compelled to admit blacks to all programs.[4]

In the late 1980's, the University of Virginia and a number of black students who were enrolled there honored Jackson for her dedication to education and social equality. In 1990, the Virginia General Assembly honored her with a resolution commending her courageous act almost 55 years ago. In 2012, Jackson was posthumously commemorated as one of the Library of Virginia’s “Virginia Women in History” for her life’s work.

Audio

File:Alice jackson primetime.mp3

References

  1. Web. [http://www.virginia.edu/woodson/projects/kenan/jackson/jackson.html Alice Carlotta Jackson First African American to Apply to U.Va.], Priya Parker, 2004, retrieved January 20, 2015.
  2. Web. Alice Carlotta Jackson Stuart: First African American to Apply to a Virginia Graduate School, Black Then, 12/23/2020
  3. Web. Alice Carlotta Jackson Stuart, Find a Grave, 02/14/2008
  4. Web. Alice Carlotta Jackson: She Was the First Black Applicant to the University of Virginia, The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education