OH113 Hugh Jackson Oral History

Authors

Bill Peyton

Collection Title

Jackson Purchase Oral History Project - Lifestyles

Series Number

OH113

Interviewee

Jackson, Hugh

Interviewer

Peyton, Bill

Date Interviewed

July 5th, 1979

Processed by

Tara Marcum

Date Processed

June 20th, 2011

Description

1 sound disc (36 minutes) (Poor Sound Quality)

Abstract

Hugh Jackson recalls his childhood and early adulthood in Mayfield, Kentucky during the 1920s and 1930s. He describes the African American community of Mayfield and his education in segregated schools. Jackson mentions his first job at a local grocery store and attending St. James African Methodist Church. He vividly recalls his high school days at the Dunbar School. He concluded with a discussion on his career as a teacher and politician.

Biographical/Historical Note

Hugh Jackson was born in Mayfield, Kentucky on March 3, 1919 to Fannie and Haley Jackson. He attended elementary and high school at the Dunbar School, an independent black school. He graduated high school in 1933 and began taking classes in the fall of 1934 at West Kentucky Industrial College. He completed his studies there in 1936 and in 1937 attended Rust College in Holy Springs, Mississippi. Jackson graduated from Rust in 1939 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In the fall of 1942, he began teaching at Milton Elementary School in Fulton, Kentucky. He remained at Milton for seven years before returning to Mayfield. In 1959, Jackson became the first black candidate to run for City Council in Mayfield.

General Information

No user access to original recordings. Use audio user copies, digital derivatives, transcripts, and/or tape indexes. This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code). Permission for reproduction must be requested from Murray State University.

Subject Headings/Descriptors

Jackson, Hugh, 1919-

Mayfield (Ky.) - History.

Dunbar High School (Mayfield, Ky.)

West Kentucky Industrial College (McCracken County, Ky.)

African Americans - Kentucky - Mayfield.

Segregation in education - Kentucky.

Milton Elementary School (Fulton, Ky.)

Recommended Citation

Peyton, Bill, "OH113 Hugh Jackson Oral History" (2025). Lifestyles. 26.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/oh-lifestyles/26