Henry P. Jacobs

Henry P. Jacobs (July 8, 1825 - December 14, 1899) was a janitor, preacher, founder of schools, and state legislator in Mississippi. He escaped slavery.[1]

Henry P. Jacobs

He was born in Alabama. He escaped slavery to Canada and then moved to Michigan before settling in Natchez, Mississippi after the American Civil War.[2]

He founded the school that became Jackson State University.[3][4] In 2010, Jackson State University president Ronald Mason Jr. proposed merging several Historically Black Colleges and Universities into specialized campuses of a newly formed university called Jacobs State University in honor of Jacobs.[3]

He served with John R. Lynch and O. C. French in the Mississippi House of Representatives from Adams County, Mississippi.

In 2015 a mural was painted in Ypsilanti in his honor.[5]

References
  1. "HP Jacobs: Ypsilanti's Builder of African-American Worlds". www.ypsireal.com. February 2, 2021.
  2. "Henry P. Jacobs – Against All Odds". Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  3. Lynch, Adam. "JSU President Mason Proposes HBCU Merger Into 'Jacobs State'". www.jacksonfreepress.com.
  4. "Learn About Natchez". Historic Natchez Foundation. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  5. "HP Jacobs, runaway slave turned state senator, doctor and university founder, recognized in Ypsilanti". Mark Maynard.
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