Percy Greene
Encyclopedia
Percy Greene was born on September 7, 1897 in Jackson, Mississippi
. He was one of twelve children born to George Washington Green and Sarah Stone. At the age of 17, Greene joined the army. Greene studied law under black attorney-physician Sidney D. Redmond and attended Jackson State University
. He is in the Jackson State University Hall of Fame for his football talent. Greene was denied a career as a lawyer because the State bar refused to recognize his high exam scores. His other early jobs included mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, magazine salesman with Tuskegee Institute, and the Civilian Conservation Corps
. On June 16, 1921, Greene married Frances Lee Reed. The couple had two children: Frances Lorraine and Gwendolyn Louise.
In 1938 Percy Greene started the Jackson Advocate
newspaper, now Mississippi's oldest black-owned newspaper. Greene stood for equal rights, justice and opportunities for all. He talked about the Mississippi poll tax
and the intimidation blacks suffered at the polls. He spoke all over Mississippi and was recognized in the Pittsburgh Courier for being on their "Top Ten Honor Roll" two years in a row. Eventually he began speaking in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C.
President Harry S. Truman
, after hearing about Greene’s speech, called the Jackson Advocate office and asked what Percy needed in Mississippi and how he could help. Greene said "We need the vote Mr. President. We need the vote…without intimidation, or poll tax... we need the right to vote and the protection of the federal government." The following year, 1948, Percy Green was photographed as he voted for the first time. By 1948, the Advocate circulated 3,000 papers and rose to 10,000 in 1973. Percy Greene died on April 16, 1977.
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
. He was one of twelve children born to George Washington Green and Sarah Stone. At the age of 17, Greene joined the army. Greene studied law under black attorney-physician Sidney D. Redmond and attended Jackson State University
Jackson State University
Jackson State University is a historically black university founded in 1877 in Natchez, MS by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. The Society moved the school to Jackson in 1882, renaming it Jackson College, and developed its present campus in 1902. It became a state supported...
. He is in the Jackson State University Hall of Fame for his football talent. Greene was denied a career as a lawyer because the State bar refused to recognize his high exam scores. His other early jobs included mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, magazine salesman with Tuskegee Institute, and the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
. On June 16, 1921, Greene married Frances Lee Reed. The couple had two children: Frances Lorraine and Gwendolyn Louise.
In 1938 Percy Greene started the Jackson Advocate
Jackson Advocate
Jackson Advocate is an African-American weekly newspaper in Jackson, Mississippi founded in 1938 by Percy Greene. Mr. Greene was a veteran of World War I and was a Civil Rights leader in the 1940s and 1950s...
newspaper, now Mississippi's oldest black-owned newspaper. Greene stood for equal rights, justice and opportunities for all. He talked about the Mississippi poll tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
and the intimidation blacks suffered at the polls. He spoke all over Mississippi and was recognized in the Pittsburgh Courier for being on their "Top Ten Honor Roll" two years in a row. Eventually he began speaking in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington D.C.
President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
, after hearing about Greene’s speech, called the Jackson Advocate office and asked what Percy needed in Mississippi and how he could help. Greene said "We need the vote Mr. President. We need the vote…without intimidation, or poll tax... we need the right to vote and the protection of the federal government." The following year, 1948, Percy Green was photographed as he voted for the first time. By 1948, the Advocate circulated 3,000 papers and rose to 10,000 in 1973. Percy Greene died on April 16, 1977.