Jessie Tompkins
Encyclopedia
Jessie Tompkins is an American athlete and educator from Bessemer, Alabama
. Tompkins led the nation in the 50 yard hurdles (42") indoors and the 400 meter hurdles outdoors in 1979 in high school. He led the nation in the Junior College 400 meter hurdles and ranked among the top 50 U.S hurdlers in 1981, according to Track and Field News. Tompkins graduated from Bishop State Community College
in Mobile, Alabama
and The United States Sports Academy
in Daphne, Alabama
and later from Alabama State University
. Tompkins is a professional educator. He organized and developed the East Montgomery Track Club for youths in rural Montgomery, Alabama
.
During the Civil Rights Movement
in Alabama
, the Tompkins family suffered violence and racial attacks in Marion, Alabama
. In 1958 family member Jimmy Wilson (handyman)
, a black handyman, was sentenced, by an all-white jury, to death for allegedly robbing a white women of $1.95. According to the Des Moines Register, "a court official suggested that the jury had been influenced by the fact that Mrs. Barker told the jury that Wilson had spoken to her in a disrespectful tone". Throughout the South since the Civil Rights movement
, rural blacks have been targeted for their land and homestead rights.
Tompkins is an activist for student rights in Sports and Education
, In 1997 he was the lead plaintiff in Tompkins v Alabama State University
lawsuit, and one of four African American
students who filed a lawsuit to eliminate racial requirement for the all-white scholarship program at Alabama State University
in Montgomery, Alabama
. The All-White Scholarship was established to integrate Historically Black Colleges. The scholarship brochure echoed memories of the White-Only Signs from the 1950s and 60’s when blacks were beaten, attacked by dogs, killed and sprayed with water hoses to prevent racial integration
in Alabama
.
The scholarship only required that the applicants be white, have a GED and received a full tuition scholarship for undergraduate and graduate schools (3.0 GPA). Tompkins was represented by Ann Coulter
and The Center for Individual Rights
(CIR) in Washington D.C. Tompkins' story about the White-Only Scholarship Program was featured in The Wall Street Journal
, The Chronicle of Higher Education
, Jet Magazine and aired on 60 minutes
and CNN
, After 24 years from Track and Field
competition, in 2009 Tompkins ranked 15th in the nation in the masters long jump
competition.
Bessemer, Alabama
Bessemer is a city outside of Birmingham in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States eight miles west of Hoover. The population was 29,672 at the 2000 Census, but by the 2009 U.S...
. Tompkins led the nation in the 50 yard hurdles (42") indoors and the 400 meter hurdles outdoors in 1979 in high school. He led the nation in the Junior College 400 meter hurdles and ranked among the top 50 U.S hurdlers in 1981, according to Track and Field News. Tompkins graduated from Bishop State Community College
Bishop State Community College
Bishop State Community College, founded 1927, is a state-supported, two-year, public, historically black college located in Mobile, Alabama U.S.A.- History :...
in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
and The United States Sports Academy
United States Sports Academy
The United States Sports Academy is an accredited, sport-specific institution located in Daphne, Alabama. It offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs as well as certificate programs. Founded in 1972, the Academy has provided its sports programs to more than 60 countries around the...
in Daphne, Alabama
Daphne, Alabama
Daphne is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The city is located along I-10, 11 miles east of Mobile and 150 miles southwest of the state capital of Montgomery. The United States Census 2000 lists the population of the city as 16,581 making...
and later from Alabama State University
Alabama State University
Alabama State University, founded 1867, is a historically black university located in Montgomery, Alabama. ASU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- History :...
. Tompkins is a professional educator. He organized and developed the East Montgomery Track Club for youths in rural Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
.
During the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, the Tompkins family suffered violence and racial attacks in Marion, Alabama
Marion, Alabama
Marion is the county seat of Perry County, Alabama. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 3,511. First called Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed after a hero of the American Revolution, Francis Marion.-Geography:...
. In 1958 family member Jimmy Wilson (handyman)
Jimmy Wilson (handyman)
Jimmy Wilson, born in 1903 or 1904, was an African-American handyman who was convicted of robbery and sentenced to death by an all-White jury in a Marion, Alabama court in 1958 for stealing $1.95 from a White American woman, Esteele Barker. According to the Des Moines Register, "a court official...
, a black handyman, was sentenced, by an all-white jury, to death for allegedly robbing a white women of $1.95. According to the Des Moines Register, "a court official suggested that the jury had been influenced by the fact that Mrs. Barker told the jury that Wilson had spoken to her in a disrespectful tone". Throughout the South since the Civil Rights movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, rural blacks have been targeted for their land and homestead rights.
Tompkins is an activist for student rights in Sports and Education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, In 1997 he was the lead plaintiff in Tompkins v Alabama State University
Tompkins v Alabama State University
Jessie Tompkins et al. v. Alabama State University et al. was a legal case involving affirmative action, that was decided in a United States Federal Court....
lawsuit, and one of four African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
students who filed a lawsuit to eliminate racial requirement for the all-white scholarship program at Alabama State University
Alabama State University
Alabama State University, founded 1867, is a historically black university located in Montgomery, Alabama. ASU is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- History :...
in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
. The All-White Scholarship was established to integrate Historically Black Colleges. The scholarship brochure echoed memories of the White-Only Signs from the 1950s and 60’s when blacks were beaten, attacked by dogs, killed and sprayed with water hoses to prevent racial integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
.
The scholarship only required that the applicants be white, have a GED and received a full tuition scholarship for undergraduate and graduate schools (3.0 GPA). Tompkins was represented by Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter
Ann Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...
and The Center for Individual Rights
Center for Individual Rights
The Center for Individual Rights is a non-profit public interest law firm in the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the firm is "dedicated to the defense of individual liberties against the increasingly aggressive and unchecked authority of federal and state governments." The Center is...
(CIR) in Washington D.C. Tompkins' story about the White-Only Scholarship Program was featured in The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty, staff members and administrators....
, Jet Magazine and aired on 60 minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
and CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, After 24 years from Track and Field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
competition, in 2009 Tompkins ranked 15th in the nation in the masters long jump
Long jump
The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength, and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point...
competition.
Personal Best Marks
- 60 m. Dash 6.29 s (1982)(manual timing)
- 60 m. Hurdles: 7.51 s (1982)
- 500 m. Dash 63.4 s (1984)
- Long jump: 7.56 meters. m (24 ft 8¼ in) 1980
- 110 m. Hurdles: 14.0 s (1984)
- 400 m. Hurdles: 50.6 s (1981)
- 4x400 m. Relay: 45.08 s(1982)
- 4x100 m. Relay: 40.30s (New Image Track - Tompkins; Rotimi PetersRotimi PetersRotimi Peters was a Nigerian athlete who competed in the 400 & 4x400 meters.He competed for Nigeria in the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles, United States in the 4 x 400 meters relay where he won the bronze medal with his team mates Sunday Uti, Moses Ugbusien and Innocent...
; Roger KingdomRoger KingdomRoger Kingdom is a former sprint hurdler from the United States.Born in Vienna, Georgia, an athlete of note Roger excelled at the high jump and discus in his formative years as well as being a noteworthy American football player...
; Clinton Davis - 1984)
External links
- Tompkins Ranks 15th Nationally in Long Jump
- 60 Minutes interview
- Understanding the Backlash Against Affirmative Action
- Landownership made blacks targets of violence and murder
- Jimmy Wilson (handyman)Jimmy Wilson (handyman)Jimmy Wilson, born in 1903 or 1904, was an African-American handyman who was convicted of robbery and sentenced to death by an all-White jury in a Marion, Alabama court in 1958 for stealing $1.95 from a White American woman, Esteele Barker. According to the Des Moines Register, "a court official...