Inez Jackson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Inez Jackson
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Jackson in 1989
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| Born |
Inez C. Young
January 9, 1907 |
| Died | November 19, 1993 (aged 86) |
| Other names | Inez C. Jackson |
| Occupation | teacher, agricultural worker, postal clerk |
Inez Jackson (born January 9, 1907 – died November 19, 1993) was an American activist, teacher, and postal worker. She worked hard to make things fair for everyone.
After getting her teaching degree, she taught school in Shawnee, Oklahoma. During World War II, her husband had to work at the Oakland shipyards in California. Inez moved with him, but because she was African-American, she couldn't get a job as a teacher. She refused to work as a house cleaner and instead picked fruit on farms.
In 1949, she became the first Black postal clerk hired in San Jose, California. Inez was a member of groups like the NAACP and the Young Women's Christian Association. She fought for civil rights, speaking out against unfair rules like redlining (which made it hard for Black families to buy homes) and unequal education and job opportunities. She believed in peaceful protests and encouraged people to demonstrate without violence.
From 1969 to 1973, she led the local NAACP branch. She also led the area YWCA from 1973 to 1976. In 1978, she helped start the African American Community Service Agency. Later, in 1995, the library at this center was named in her honor.
Early Life and Education
Inez C. Young was born on January 9, 1907, in Kaufman County, Texas. Her parents were Tessie and Cazzee Young. Her father was a farmer. Inez grew up in Terrell, Texas.
A man named William Henry Burnett, who was a jazz musician and a school principal, helped Black students get an education in Terrell. Inez graduated from high school in 1925 as the second-best student in her class.
She then moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma. There, she joined the local YWCA and became its president in 1926. Inez went to Langston University and earned a teaching certificate.
On July 7, 1929, she married Leon Jackson in Shawnee. Leon was a barber. Inez became a math teacher in the segregated school system in Shawnee. This meant Black students and White students went to separate schools. Inez and Leon had six children. In 1944, Leon had to work in the Oakland shipyards in California during World War II. Inez and the children stayed in Shawnee to finish the school year.
Fighting for Fairness in California (1944–1986)
Inez was excited to move to California. She had heard that schools there were integrated, meaning Black and White students learned together. But when she tried to get a teaching job in San Jose, California, she was told the schools didn't hire Black teachers. They offered her a job as a cleaner instead.
Inez refused this job because she had gone to college to avoid working as a maid. She looked for other work through an employment agency, but they only offered jobs as house cleaners. So, Inez found a job picking fruit at a local cannery.
At that time, San Jose was a city of about 80,000 people, and only 515 of them were Black. It was hard to find good opportunities. Inez found the racism confusing because it wasn't as clear as the Jim Crow laws in the South.
Because there weren't many Black role models, Inez started joining local community groups. She joined the Parent–teacher association (PTA), the League of Women Voters of California, the NAACP, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), among others. She believed that racism was a form of violence and went against freedom. She often held meetings at her home several nights a week to discuss these issues.
Even though activists protested the school board's hiring rules, they couldn't change them. The Jackson family struggled to earn enough money. But in 1948, President Truman made a rule that ended segregation in government jobs. Inez took and passed the civil service test. However, the local post office still wouldn't hire her. Activists then sent lots of mail, made many phone calls, and visited the office in person. Finally, in 1949, Inez was hired as the first Black postal clerk in San Jose.
Finding affordable homes in the Bay Area was hard for people of color because of redlining. This was a practice where certain neighborhoods were marked as "risky" for loans, often preventing Black families from buying homes there. The Jacksons first lived in Northside, but even with stable jobs, they could only live in certain areas.
To protest this, Inez encouraged her friend and fellow postal worker, Mary Anne Smith, to become San Jose's first Black real estate agent. Mary Anne and another Black agent, Berthina Nelson, worked to help desegregate neighborhoods from the 1950s to the 1970s. The Jacksons eventually bought a home in an area called "Mexican Valley." In 1951, Inez also pushed the police department to hire a Black officer, Francis Tanner. She continued to push for more Black people to be hired on the police force.
In the 1960s, there were many disagreements about race in San Jose, just like across the country. Inez worked to calm things down by encouraging community action and peaceful protests. She suggested that WILPF members and students from San Jose State University hold sit-ins at lunch counters in downtown stores, similar to those in Greensboro.
She also encouraged students to challenge unfair rules at the university. These rules treated Black students, teachers, and athletes unfairly in hiring, housing, scholarships, and student groups. In 1966, students Harry Edwards and Kenneth Noel, with Inez's help, formed a group called United Black Students for Action (UBSA). They demanded that the university work to get rid of unfair rules built into the system. In 1969, Inez became president of the local NAACP branch and served for four years. She also served on the Santa Clara County Commission of Human Relations.
In 1970, the local YWCA changed its rules to welcome women of color. Inez became the first Black president of the local YWCA board in 1973, leading the group until 1976. During her time as president, a crisis center and hotline were opened. They also started groups to help women learn about education, jobs, and other topics.
In 1978, Inez founded the African American Community Service Agency. This center provides education, training, health, and well-being services to the Black community. Mary Anne Smith shared the story of how the agency started. Inez remembered a vacant building that used to be a fire station. She called the mayor and found out the city would rent vacant properties for $1 a year to community groups. She made the arrangements, and the agency was able to use the building. Inez remained active in the community even into her 80s.
Later Life and Legacy
Inez Jackson passed away on November 19, 1993, at her home in San Jose from Alzheimer's disease.
Professor Herbert G. Ruffin, II, called Inez Jackson a "local civil rights legend" and a "very important person in the Black South Bay community." On October 19, 1995, the Inez C. Jackson Historical Library opened at the community center she founded. This library aims to collect the history and contributions of the Black community in San Jose. Inez Jackson's personal papers are kept there. An interview with Inez from 1985 is also stored at Stanford University.
