Victoria Gray Adams
Encyclopedia
Victoria Jackson Gray Adams (November 5, 1926 – August 12, 2006) was an American
civil rights activist from Hattiesburg, Mississippi
. She was one of the founding members of the influential Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
.
, the daughter of Mack and Annie Mae (née Ott) Jackson, Victoria Jackson was raised on a farm by her grandparents; her mother had died when she was just three years old. She attended Wilberforce University
for one year, but money for tuition ran short. She later studied at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and at Jackson State College
in Jackson
and qualified as a teacher. She went on to serve as a campus minister at Virginia State University
and to teach and lecture at schools, colleges and universities across the nation.
Adams taught classes in voter registration
. In 1962, she became field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC), and led a boycott against Hattiesburg businesses.
In 1964, Adams, a teacher, door-to-door saleswoman of cosmetics, and leader of voter education classes, decided to run against Senator John Stennis, the Mississippi Democrat who at the time had been in the Senate for 16 years. She announced that she and others from the tiny Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
, of which she was a founding member, along with Fannie Lou Hamer
and Annie Devine, would challenge the power of white segregationist politicians like Stennis. The time had come, she said, to pay attention “to the Negro in Mississippi, who had not even had the leavings from the American political table.”
During the Freedom Summer
of 1964, Adams helped open the Freedom School
s that pushed for civil rights in Mississippi. She went to the 1964 Democratic National Convention
in Atlantic City, New Jersey
. The Mississippi Democratic Party had withdrawn support for President Lyndon Johnson because of Johnson's work to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964
, and sent an all-white delegation to the convention. The three women fought to be seated among the delegation, but were unsuccessful. The incident, however, led to racial integration
reforms within the party.
The same three women were honored congressional guests in 1968, and were seated on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. Adams moved to Thailand
with her second husband and worked on behalf of African-American U.S. servicemen for several years.
Adams said she learned in 1964 that there were two kinds of people in grass-roots politics, “those who are in the movement and those who have the movement in them.” “The movement is in me”, she said, “and I know it always will be.”
Her first marriage, to Tony Gray, produced three children, Georgie, Tony Jr. (who died in 1997) and Cecil, and ended in divorce in 1964. Other survivors include her second husband, Reuben Earnest Adams Jr. (to whom she had been married for 40 years) and their son, Reuben III; a brother, Glodies Jackson; and eight grandchildren.
Adams died at her son Cecil's home in Baltimore on August 12, 2006 of cancer
, aged 79.
Her papers are at the McCain Library and Archives at the University of Southern Mississippi.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
civil rights activist from Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 44,779 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Forrest County...
. She was one of the founding members of the influential Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was an American political party created in the state of Mississippi in 1964, during the civil rights movement...
.
Early life and education
Born on November 5, 1926, in Palmers Crossing, just outside Hattiesburg, MississippiHattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 44,779 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Forrest County...
, the daughter of Mack and Annie Mae (née Ott) Jackson, Victoria Jackson was raised on a farm by her grandparents; her mother had died when she was just three years old. She attended Wilberforce University
Wilberforce University
Wilberforce University is a private, coed, liberal arts historically black university located in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans...
for one year, but money for tuition ran short. She later studied at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and at Jackson State College
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...
in Jackson
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...
and qualified as a teacher. She went on to serve as a campus minister at Virginia State University
Virginia State University
Virginia State University is a historically black and land-grant university located north of the Appomattox River in Chesterfield, in the Richmond area. Founded on , Virginia State was the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of higher learning for black Americans...
and to teach and lecture at schools, colleges and universities across the nation.
Civil Rights Activist
In the 1960 electionsUnited States presidential election, 1960
The United States presidential election of 1960 was the 44th American presidential election, held on November 8, 1960, for the term beginning January 20, 1961, and ending January 20, 1965. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was not eligible to run again. The Republican Party...
Adams taught classes in voter registration
Voter registration
Voter registration is the requirement in some democracies for citizens and residents to check in with some central registry specifically for the purpose of being allowed to vote in elections. An effort to get people to register is known as a voter registration drive.-Centralized/compulsory vs...
. In 1962, she became field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ' was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It emerged from a series of student meetings led by Ella Baker held at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina in April 1960...
(SNCC), and led a boycott against Hattiesburg businesses.
In 1964, Adams, a teacher, door-to-door saleswoman of cosmetics, and leader of voter education classes, decided to run against Senator John Stennis, the Mississippi Democrat who at the time had been in the Senate for 16 years. She announced that she and others from the tiny Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was an American political party created in the state of Mississippi in 1964, during the civil rights movement...
, of which she was a founding member, along with Fannie Lou Hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer was an American voting rights activist and civil rights leader....
and Annie Devine, would challenge the power of white segregationist politicians like Stennis. The time had come, she said, to pay attention “to the Negro in Mississippi, who had not even had the leavings from the American political table.”
During the Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer
Freedom Summer was a campaign in the United States launched in June 1964 to attempt to register as many African American voters as possible in Mississippi which had historically excluded most blacks from voting...
of 1964, Adams helped open the Freedom School
Freedom School
The Freedom School was located in Colorado, United States, offering a series of lectures by libertarian theorist Robert LeFevre from 1957 to 1968. LeFevre extended this work to the related Rampart College, an unaccredited four-year school, in 1963. Both shared the same campus...
s that pushed for civil rights in Mississippi. She went to the 1964 Democratic National Convention
1964 Democratic National Convention
The 1964 Democratic National Convention was the 1964 presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party. It took place at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey from August 24 to 27, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson -- who had been Vice President under...
in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
. The Mississippi Democratic Party had withdrawn support for President Lyndon Johnson because of Johnson's work to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...
, and sent an all-white delegation to the convention. The three women fought to be seated among the delegation, but were unsuccessful. The incident, however, led to racial integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
reforms within the party.
The same three women were honored congressional guests in 1968, and were seated on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. Adams moved to Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
with her second husband and worked on behalf of African-American U.S. servicemen for several years.
Adams said she learned in 1964 that there were two kinds of people in grass-roots politics, “those who are in the movement and those who have the movement in them.” “The movement is in me”, she said, “and I know it always will be.”
Her first marriage, to Tony Gray, produced three children, Georgie, Tony Jr. (who died in 1997) and Cecil, and ended in divorce in 1964. Other survivors include her second husband, Reuben Earnest Adams Jr. (to whom she had been married for 40 years) and their son, Reuben III; a brother, Glodies Jackson; and eight grandchildren.
Adams died at her son Cecil's home in Baltimore on August 12, 2006 of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, aged 79.
Her papers are at the McCain Library and Archives at the University of Southern Mississippi.
External links
- http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/politics/15279845.htm Obituary in SunHerald
- http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=880&category=CivicMakers Biography from The History Makers
- http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/19/obituaries/19adams.html?ref=obituaries NY Times obituary
- http://www.lib.usm.edu/%7Earchives/m345.htm Victoria Gray Adams papers