Jacob L. Reddix
Jacob Lorenzo Reddix (1897–1973) was an American educator, academic administrator, and memoirist.[1] He served as president of Mississippi Negro Training School (now Jackson State University) in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1940 until 1967.[2] He was nicknamed "the Builder", for his support for new campus buildings at Jackson State College.[1]
Jacob Lorenzo Reddix | |
|---|---|
| 5th President of Jackson State University | |
| In office 1940–1967 | |
| Preceded by | B. Baldwin Dansby |
| Succeeded by | John A. Peoples Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 2, 1897 Vancleave, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | May 9, 1973 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Lewis Institute, University of Chicago |
| Occupation | Educator, academic administrator, memoirist, college president |
Early life and education
Jacob Lorenzo Reddix was born on March 2, 1897, in Vancleave, Mississippi.[2] He was the youngest of nine children, born to parents Nathan and Frances.[2] His family was a mix of African, Cajun, and Creole heritage.[2] His grandmother Millie Brown had been enslaved.[1]
He attended Lewis Institute (now Illinois Institute of Technology) in Chicago, and he graduated in 1927.[1] After college he worked as a schoolteacher and for the United States Postal Service, before starting graduate school at University of Chicago though a Rosenwald fellowship.[1]
Career
Reddix worked at the Farm Security Administration, a New Deal agency, where he focused his work on agricultural cooperatives.[1] In 1932, Reddix founded the Gary Consumer Cooperative in Gary, Indiana.[3]
He became the first president of Mississippi Negro Training School (now Jackson State University) after the school became a state-supported public institution, ending the schools many years of leadership by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York.[4] The school was renamed Jackson College for Negro Teachers in 1944, and Jackson State College in 1956.[1] Reddix did not support 1960s civil rights movement activism on campus, which drew criticism by students.[1][5] In 1961, during the Tougaloo Nine protest on campus, Reddix was alleged to have assaulted two demonstrators and threatened to expel all of the students involved in protesting.[6]
He was succeeded by John A. Peoples Jr. in 1967.[7] In 1972, the school named its new student union building in his honor.[1]
Reddix died on May 9, 1973, in Jackson, Mississippi.[1]
Publications
- Reddix, Jacob L. (1936). The Negro Seeks Economic Security Through Co-operation.
- Reddix, Jacob L. (1974). A Voice Crying in the Wilderness: The Memoirs of Jacob L. Reddix. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-0878050246.
References
- "Reddix, Jacob L." Mississippi Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
- Sewell, George Alexander; Dwight, Margaret L. (2012-01-20). Mississippi Black History Makers. University Press of Mississippi. p. 199. ISBN 978-1-61703-428-2.
- Lane, James B. (1978-10-22). City of the Century: A History of Gary, Indiana. Indiana University Press. p. 322. ISBN 978-0-253-11187-6.
- Ownby, Ted (2013-10-24). The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-61703-934-8.
- Poinsett, Alex (1961-10-26). "President's Action Chokes Off". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. pp. 24–27.
- Dabbs, Wallace (1961-03-28). "Jackson State College Students Stage Protest". Clarion-Ledger. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- Finkelman, Paul (2009). "Jackson State University". Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: O-T. Oxford University Press. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-0-19-516779-5.