Alice Thomas

Alice Thomas-Tisdale is publisher emerita of the Jackson Advocate, the oldest regularly published Black newspaper in Mississippi. She is a native of Racine, Wisconsin, the eighth of nine children born to William and Esther Thomas. She retired in 2020 after giving 38 years of service to the publication. She assumed the role of publisher in 2007 after the death of her husband and publisher, Charles W. Tisdale. In her role as president of the local NAACP of Mound Bayou, MS, she attended several statewide meetings in Jackson, MS. There she met Charles Tisdale, publisher of the Jackson Advocate who she later married. She began selling the newspaper and initiated the “Mound Bayou Briefs,” a column about issues and life in the Mississippi Delta. She eventually moved to Jackson to work with the newspaper and became the associate publisher.

Thomas-Tisdale has applied her passion and talents for community building throughout her career. She received her education from Washington Park High School and Washington State University which she used to educate the community on numerous topics, most importantly, quality of life issues. Alice is the founder and president of NEIGHBORS (Nation’s Evacuees in Good Hands w/Benevolent Out-Reach Services). This program helped displaced victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She is also a Metlife fellow, HIV/AIDS advocate, and has extensive training in health journalism, including “Families USA” and “New America Media.”

Thomas-Tisdale, who has visited several countries in her journalistic capacity, reported on a number of important world issues. She has reported on the land issue in Zimbabwe, Africa; the slavery issue in Sudan, Africa; African-American business opportunities in Japan; and human rights issues in Kazakhstan. She has attended and reported on the International AIDS Conferences in Barcelona, Spain; Bangkok, Thailand; and Toronto, Canada from an African-American perspective. She has also reported on the achievements of African American female pilots in France.

Thomas-Tisdale has received numerous honors: the Medgar Wiley Evers Lifetime Achievement Award; the NAACP Legacy Award; the SCLC Service Award; the City of Jackson Martin Luther King Jr. Woman of the Year Award; the Margaret Walker Alexander Literary Award; the Forward Lookers Excellence in Journalism Award; and is listed at the University of Southern Mississippi School of Journalism Hall of Fame. 

Alice’s most treasured accomplishment is that of being the mother of daughter, DeAnna Tisdale Johnson, an accomplished classical singer. On February 29, 2021, DeAnna assumed the role of publisher/editor upon her mother’s retirement. 

Alice is most appreciative of her late husband, Charles Tisdale, for providing the opportunities associated with working with the Black Press. She credits all of her successes as rewards for serving God.