JANS – A Farish Street property with a rich and significant role in the Civil Rights Movement has earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Redmond Building at 505-509 North Farish Street was placed on the list because work that took place at the site had a national impact on the struggle for equality. Physician, businessman, and attorney Sidney Dillon Redmond constructed the site in 1947.
“Years of research revealed ties to the Civil Rights Movement that proved important nationally as well as locally,” said property owner Kimberly Sweet. “We have a legacy here in Jackson that truly makes us proud and provides a foundation for us to build upon today and into the future.”
Over the decades, the Redmond Building has been an important site in civil rights. In 1954, the NAACP selected the site as its first office for Field Secretary Medgar Evers. His wife, Myrlie Evers worked alongside her husband as his secretary. While in this office, Evers investigated the racially motivated murders of Rev. George Lee, Lamar Smith, and Emmett Till. The NAACP used those efforts to shine a national light on the brutality Blacks faced in their daily lives.
In 1951, Dr. David White, the state’s first African American optometrist, opened his practice in the building.
In 1964, Freedom Summer drew hundreds of students, health professionals, lawyers, and ministers to Mississippi in support of the fight for equality. That year, COFO, or the Council of Federated Organizations, opened offices in the building to help coordinate the various groups involved. The National Lawyers Guild opened offices to provide legal strategy for Civil Rights leaders as well as legal support for the hundreds who were arrested during protests. The Medical Committee for Human Rights opened offices to coordinate the treatment of and provide medical care for activists. The National Council of Churches opened offices to minister and counsel to both activists and segregationists. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party also opened an office in the building.
The site’s history also features other culturally important events and people. Blues Hall of Fame Artist Sonny Boy Williamson II and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Guitarist Elmore James recorded the Grammy winning hit “Dust My Broom” at nearby Trumpet Records while they lived upstairs in the building. The Big Apple Inn has been selling its world-famous smokes in the Redmond Building since 1948.
“It is important to share this impactful history with as many people as possible. This effort honors those who sacrificed so much in generations past and inspires those today to keep fighting the good fight,” Sweet said.
