Jackson State College Class of ‘64 played activist role

The class had its beginning as the first high school class to graduate in the 1960s, amidst the excitement of the Kennedy – Nixon Presidential Campaign. The members came from all across Mississippi – Tunica and Clarksdale, Bogue Chitto and Itta Bena, Tupelo and Natchez, Pass Christian and Forest, and all of the points in between, as well as many from out of state, the Caribbean and the continent of Africa. There were traditional high school graduates, a sizeable number of veterans, a sprinkling of in-service teachers, and a corps of former College Readiness students.

To prepare them for appropriate remediation and competition, the college divided the class into “ability” groups. To prepare themselves from excessive hazing, several of the class members requested and received intervention from the administration. These were early examples of its uniqueness. Both actions helped meld the class into a community.

Fred McDowell of Greenwood was elected class president and the class was off to a good start. A group of them made the Dean’s List as first quarter freshmen. This was impressive considering they were adjusting as students and were active in the movement.

Although freshman female students had strict curfews regarding when and where they could go, they as well as the male students found ways and means to become active in the community. For example, Joyce and Dorie Ladner became leading student activists with Medgar Evers and the NAACP. Evers’ office was only a few blocks from the campus. Many students easily joined protests with students at Campbell College, which was just across the street, and at Tougaloo College, which was only seven miles away. As a matter fact, these freshman students were thus baptized into the Jackson Movement, as the early civil rights activities were called. 

Members of the class of 1964 attended many mass meetings at the Masonic Temple, Pearl Street African Methodist Episcopal Church, Central United Methodist Church, and other places around the city. People like Curt Flood, Constance Baker Motley, Ralph Bunche, Roy Wilkins, and Dr. Martin Luther King were speakers on those occasions. There were also local, celebrity speakers, including Aaron Henry, R.L.T. Smith, Medgar Evers, Rev. S. Leon Whitney, Rev. G.R. Houghton, and Attorney Jack Young.

On campus, the students continued to enjoy extracurricular activities and make their marks academically. Perhaps as much as previous classes, they also became seriously committed to Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities.

Then in the middle of the spring quarter, the campus was rocked by civil rights activities stemming from the arrest of nine Black Tougaloo students who attempted to desegregate the  public library. In order to show support for the arrested students, Joyce and Dorie Ladner, two members of the class of 1964, organized a singing and praying session in front of the campus library. In effort to break up the session, President Jacob Reddix and the campus police began chasing students and seizing their ID cards. This meant that they had to face the disciplinary committee at its next meeting. As a result of those actions, several students were punished. Student Government (SGA) President Walter Williams was expelled and the dean of students was removed from his position. 

Meanwhile, the next day SGA leaders called a meeting in the gymnasium. At the end of the meeting a group of student attendees attempted to march from the campus to the courthouse where the Tougaloo students were being tried. They were attacked and dispersed by the city police. Reddix then abolished the SGA for the remainder of the year.

Students went home for the Easter break. Upon their return, however, the movement had not died. Direct action by many just shifted to Campbell College, to Tougaloo College, and to NAACP functions. That condition remained until school year ended in May.

As the second year began, most of the male sophomores were housed in the faculty apartments, giving them more freedom or mobility. Most of the female sophomores also enjoyed more freedom in Barrett Hall. Making even more of a difference was the combining of the literature, music and art appreciation, and world history classes into a block course taken by all sophomores at the same time. This too helped meld them as a community and it was often supplemented by discussions in the Scholarly Activities Forum.

Cleve McDowell of Drew was elected class president. Things moved along moderately successful in terms of sports, academics, and extracurricular activities. More students moved off campus and involved themselves in community activities.

For many, civil rights activities became most prominent. James Meredith, by this time, had applied for admission to the University of Mississippi, which made him a celebrity. In the absence of the SGA, he and other students, such as Ruby Magee, Rosie Pearson, and the Ladner sisters, assumed leadership roles. There were organized efforts to boycott downtown Jackson during the Easter shopping season. There were also publicity campaigns to show the state fairs were using their money to support segregation, including the schools. These efforts were spear-headed by the NAACP. In addition, many students eagerly read an underground newspaper, THE EAGLE EYE, which strongly advocated civil rights for Black people.

During that same quarter, students at Burgland High School in McComb began a protest movement resulting in many being expelled; some transferred to Campbell College in Jackson. This action helped intensify the movement around Jackson State and Lanier High School as well as in the city of McComb.

Having completed a second year at JSC, members of the class of 1964 returned to their respective homes, sometimes to civil rights organizations, in places like Greenwood, Meridian, Greenville, Holy Springs, and Natchez. Thus, members of the class advanced in terms of their education and activism. 

The class began its junior year with Sidney Hammond of Slidell, Louisiana, as president. Right away there were a number of things about which they were pleased and/or excited. Most of the male students were moved to the newly-built Stewart Hall. The SGA was restored. Before the year was over, the football team had gone 10 and 1 and was crowned Black College National Champions. An unprecedented number of class members made the Dean’s list and/or were selected for inclusion in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.

From the standpoint of civil rights, James Meredith was admitted to Ole Miss and was assigned a dormitory room, which led to a riot killing two people. In order to demonstrate support for Meredith and the federal action, many students, especially of the 1964 class, bought and waved small American flags at the JSC football game the following Saturday. Meanwhile, most students were not aware that also their classmate, Cleve McDowell, had quietly applied for admission to Ole Miss Law School.

Beyond that, many students were excited to attend a symposium led by Ole Miss Professor James Silver. He has just written, MISSISSIPPI: THE CLOSED SOCIETY, which was critical of the state’s Jim Crow policies. Silver had been invited by Mississippi Teachers Association Executive Director Henry Kirksey to address this all-Black association. The book and the discussion proved valuable and exciting to the developing teachers from JSC. Kirksey also distributed a set of statistics that were later used in the case of Alexander vs. Holmes to desegregate the state’s public schools.

Following that, it is somewhat ironic that at the Graduate Baccalaureate Ceremony, the speaker advised a racially conservative approach to Black progress. That speech was followed within weeks by the assassination of Medgar Evers and the march from the funeral. Three months from that the March on Washington took place, urging a much more assertive approach to Black progress. Again, many class members were participants in or at least observers of the March on Washington. Needless to say, the students were swayed more by the civil rights activities than by the conservative ideas which had been suggested by the graduation speaker and even by the president over the years. More and more of them became actively involved in the civil rights movement.

During the senior year, Thomas Wilson of Ellisville served as class president. In addition to the excitement of anticipating graduation, many were excited over the fact that Alexander Hall had been completed, enabling most of the female students to be housed in one building. On the other hand, there was a big let-down over the fact that Coach John Merritt had left for Tennessee State University, taking most of the coaching staff and several key players with him. Many of the other key players had graduated. 

Nevertheless, the class was moving on. Elwyn Grimes was graduating as valedictorian, with a cumulative average of 2.70 on a 3.0 scale. Helen Chandler Baylor was second with a 2.55 average. Twenty others graduated with honors.

At the same time, the class continued its civil rights activism at Tougaloo and at the Congress of Federated Organizations (COFO) office. Plans were being made for Freedom Summer and they were in the midst of the planning, even as they were planning their graduations. 

By the time of the May Commencement, the class had more than matured academically. It had succeeded perhaps as few before it. In the class there was a contingent of in-service teachers who had attended classes in the summers in order to earn a bachelor’s degree or attain a teaching certificate. Up to that point, they had been able to teach after graduating from the eighth grade. They would attend high school and college until graduating. After the Brown vs. Board of Education decision and the equalization suit filed by Gladys Noel Bates, the state had given them until 1964 to get a degree and gain certification. In that sense, the class of 1964 was historical. It was the last group allowed to teach while attending college. For those in-service teachers the May graduation was doubly joyous. 

On May 24, 1964, Rev. T.B. Brown, Pastor of Mount Helm Baptist Church, delivered the Baccalaureate Address. On Monday the 25th, Dr. William Dennis Jr., President of Albany State College, delivered the Graduation Address. 

Side by side class members – regular high school graduates, College Readiness Alumni, veterans, and in-service teachers – filled the main floor of College Park Auditorium to hear the speakers and receive the bachelor’s degree. From there they set out to fulfill their dreams – improving their lot in life and making the world a better place in which to live.