Jimmie Lee Jackson
Encyclopedia
Jimmie Lee Jackson was a civil rights protestor who was shot and killed by Alabama State Trooper
James Bonard Fowler
in 1965. Jackson was unarmed. His death inspired the Selma to Montgomery marches
, an important event in the American Civil Rights movement
. He was 26 years old.
, ordained in the summer of 1964. Jackson had tried to register to vote without success for four years. Jackson was inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.
who had touched off a campaign against Alabama restrictions on Negro voting and attended meetings several nights per week at Zion's Chapel Methodist Church. This desire to vote led to his death at the hands of an Alabama State Trooper, and to the inspiration for the Selma to Montgomery marches
.
Jail about a half a block away where young Civil Rights worker James Orange
was being held. The marchers planned to sing hymns and return to the church. Police later stated they believed the crowd was planning a jailbreak.
photographers, whose cameras were smashed, and NBC News
correspondent Richard Valeriani
, who was beaten so badly that he was hospitalized. The marchers turned and scattered back towards the church.
Twenty-six-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson, his mother Viola Jackson, and his 82-year-old grandfather, Cager Lee, ran into Mack's Café behind the church, pursued by Alabama State Troopers. Police clubbed Cager Lee to the floor in the kitchen. The police continued to beat the cowering octogenarian Lee, and when his daughter Viola attempted to pull the police off, she was also beaten. When Jimmie Lee attempted to protect his mother, one trooper threw him against a cigarette machine. A second trooper shot Jimmie Lee twice in the abdomen. James Bonard Fowler
later admitted to being that trooper. Although shot twice, Jimmie Lee fled the café amid additional blows from police clubs and collapsed in front of the bus station. Jackson made a statement to a lawyer, Oscar Adams
of Birmingham
in the presence of FBI officials stating he was "clubbed down" by State Troopers after he was shot and had run away from the café.
Jimmie Lee Jackson died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Selma
, on February 26, 1965. After his death, Sister Michael Anne, an administrator at Good Samaritan, said there were powder burns on Mr. Jackson's abdomen, indicating that he was shot at very close range.
On 10 May 2007, 42 years after the crime, James Bonard Fowler was charged with first degree and second degree murder for the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson and surrendered to authorities.
On 15 November 2010, Fowler pled guilty to manslaughter, and was sentenced to six months in jail. Perry County commissioner, Albert Turner Jr, called the agreement “a slap in the face of the people of this county.”
to initiate and organize the first Selma to Montgomery march
that occurred a few days later, and became known as “Bloody Sunday”, 7 March 1965.
Alabama Highway Patrol
The Alabama Highway Patrol is a division of the Alabama Department of Public Safety and is the highway patrol agency for Alabama, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state. It was created to protect the lives, property and constitutional rights of people in Alabama.In 1971, the Alabama Highway...
James Bonard Fowler
James Bonard Fowler
James Bonard Fowler became a significant player in escalating the acute racial conflict that led to the Selma to Montgomery marches in the American Civil Rights Movement...
in 1965. Jackson was unarmed. His death inspired the Selma to Montgomery marches
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
, an important event in the American Civil Rights movement
African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...
. He was 26 years old.
Personal background
Jimmie Lee Jackson was a deacon of the St. James Baptist Church in Marion, AlabamaMarion, 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:...
, ordained in the summer of 1964. Jackson had tried to register to vote without success for four years. Jackson was inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
who had touched off a campaign against Alabama restrictions on Negro voting and attended meetings several nights per week at Zion's Chapel Methodist Church. This desire to vote led to his death at the hands of an Alabama State Trooper, and to the inspiration for the Selma to Montgomery marches
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
.
Non-violent protest
On the night of February 18, 1965, around 500 people left Zion United Methodist Church in Marion and attempted a peaceful walk to the Perry CountyPerry County, Alabama
Perry County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. It was established in 1819, and is named in honor of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry of Rhode Island and the United States Navy. As of 2010 the population was 10,591...
Jail about a half a block away where young Civil Rights worker James Orange
James Orange
James Edward Orange, MLK March website biography. Accessed 2008-02-17. was a pastor and a leading civil rights activist in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in America.-Personal life:...
was being held. The marchers planned to sing hymns and return to the church. Police later stated they believed the crowd was planning a jailbreak.
Police violence
They were met at the Post Office by a line of Marion City police officers, sheriff's deputies, and Alabama State Troopers. In the standoff, streetlights were abruptly turned off (some sources say they were shot out by the police), and the police began to beat the protestors. Among those beaten were two United Press InternationalUnited Press International
United Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
photographers, whose cameras were smashed, and NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
correspondent Richard Valeriani
Richard Valereani
Richard Valeriani was White House correspondent and diplomatic correspondent with NBC News in the 1960s and 1970s.He previously covered the civil rights movement for the network and was seriously injured when hit with an ax handle at a demonstration in Marion, Alabama in 1965 in which Jimmie Lee...
, who was beaten so badly that he was hospitalized. The marchers turned and scattered back towards the church.
Twenty-six-year-old Jimmie Lee Jackson, his mother Viola Jackson, and his 82-year-old grandfather, Cager Lee, ran into Mack's Café behind the church, pursued by Alabama State Troopers. Police clubbed Cager Lee to the floor in the kitchen. The police continued to beat the cowering octogenarian Lee, and when his daughter Viola attempted to pull the police off, she was also beaten. When Jimmie Lee attempted to protect his mother, one trooper threw him against a cigarette machine. A second trooper shot Jimmie Lee twice in the abdomen. James Bonard Fowler
James Bonard Fowler
James Bonard Fowler became a significant player in escalating the acute racial conflict that led to the Selma to Montgomery marches in the American Civil Rights Movement...
later admitted to being that trooper. Although shot twice, Jimmie Lee fled the café amid additional blows from police clubs and collapsed in front of the bus station. Jackson made a statement to a lawyer, Oscar Adams
Oscar Adams
Oscar William Adams, Jr. was the first African-American Alabama Supreme Court justice and the first African American elected to statewide office in Alabama ....
of Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
in the presence of FBI officials stating he was "clubbed down" by State Troopers after he was shot and had run away from the café.
Jimmie Lee Jackson died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Selma
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
, on February 26, 1965. After his death, Sister Michael Anne, an administrator at Good Samaritan, said there were powder burns on Mr. Jackson's abdomen, indicating that he was shot at very close range.
Burial
Jackson was buried in Heard Cemetery, an old slave burial ground, next to his father. His headstone was financed by the Perry County Civic league and since his burial, his headstone has been vandalized, bearing the marks of at least one shotgun blast.Criminal charges against killer
A grand jury declined to indict Fowler in September 1965, identifying him only by his surname: Fowler.On 10 May 2007, 42 years after the crime, James Bonard Fowler was charged with first degree and second degree murder for the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson and surrendered to authorities.
On 15 November 2010, Fowler pled guilty to manslaughter, and was sentenced to six months in jail. Perry County commissioner, Albert Turner Jr, called the agreement “a slap in the face of the people of this county.”
Significance
This incident provided the primary catalyst for SCLC leader James BevelJames Bevel
James L. Bevel was an American minister and leader of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement who, as the Director of Direct Action and Director of Nonviolent Education of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference initiated, strategized, directed, and developed SCLC's three major successes of the era:...
to initiate and organize the first Selma to Montgomery march
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American civil rights movement. They grew out of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by local African-Americans who formed the Dallas County Voters League...
that occurred a few days later, and became known as “Bloody Sunday”, 7 March 1965.
External links
- Selma Exhibit at the National Civil Rights Museum
- 45 Years Later, State Trooper Pleads Guilty to Killing - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...