Old Greyhound Bus Station (c. 1938), v05, 219 N Lamar St, Jackson, MS, USA

Jackson, MS (est. 1821, pop. 165,000)

 

Marker:

 

front

"On May 28, 1961, a Greyhound bus with nine Freedom Riders aboard arrived here, the third group of Riders into Jackson. The first two came on Trailways buses May 24. That summer 329 people were arrested in Jackson for integrating public transportation facilities. Convicted on "breach of peace" and jailed, most refused bail and were sent to the state penitentiary. Their protest worked. In September 1961, the federal government mandated that segregation in interstate transportation end."

 

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"Greyhound Bus Station This former Greyhound bus station was the scene of many historic arrests in 1961, when Freedom Riders challenged racial segregation in Jackson’s bus and train stations and airport. The Freedom Riders, part of a campaign created by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), pressured the federal government to enforce the law regarding illegal racially separate waiting rooms, rest rooms, and restaurants—common in public transportation facilities across the South.

 

"On May 4, 1961, thirteen Riders—blacks and whites, men and women—left Washington, D.C., on two buses. Trained in nonviolent direct action, they planned to desegregate bus stations throughout the South. They integrated stations in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia with few incidents but were attacked by vicious mobs in Anniston, Birmingham, and Montgomery, Alabama. The Kennedy administration implored them to stop, a call echoed by the media and some civil rights leaders. The Riders, however, reinforced with new volunteers from the Nashville Student Movement, were determined to continue.

 

"On May 24, two buses of Freedom Riders left Montgomery bound for Jackson, with highway patrolmen and National Guardsmen as armed guards. Instead of a protest mob, policemen met them in Jackson, urging them to “move on” when the Riders tried to use facilities denied them. When the Riders refused, they were arrested, charged with “breach of peace,” and quickly convicted.

 

"Embracing the "jail-no bail" tactic, they invited new Riders from around the country to join them in Jackson. Within three weeks the city’s jails were full, and the Riders were transferred to the state penitentiary at Parchman, where most served six weeks, suffering indignities and injustices with fortitude and resolve. Between May 24 and September 13, 329 people were arrested in Jackson—half black, half white, and a quarter of them women. Most were between the ages of eighteen and thirty. They came from thirty-nine states and ten other countries; forty-three were from Mississippi.

 

"On September 23, the Interstate Commerce Commission mandated an end to segregation in all bus and train stations and airports. The victorious Freedom Riders left a legacy of historic changes, proving the value of nonviolent direct action, providing a template for future campaigns, and helping jump-start the movement in Mississippi."

 

Old Greyhound Station History

 

• in the mid-1930s, as America struggled through Great Depression, Greyhound Lines adopted a Streamline Moderne design for their buses & terminals, echoing the speed lines of their Super Coaches which, like the Greyhound logo, promised a swift, state of the art ride • brought in engineer Dwight Austin (1897-1960) to create the new Super Coach design & Louisville architect William Strudwick Arrasmith (1898-1965) to reimagine Greyhound terminal design

 

• in 1937, Greyhound Lines contracted for a Streamline Moderne style terminal in Jackson, topped by a vertical, illuminated "Greyhound" sign • the bldg. was faced with blue Vitrolux structural glass panels and ivory Vitrolite trim • included a coffee shop with a horseshoe-shaped counter & bathing facilities for women (a bath tub) and men (a shower)

 

• the design is widely believed to be one of the ~60 Moderne Greyhound stations credited to Arrasmith, although photographic evidence suggests that Memphis architect William Nowland Van Powell (1904-1977) — working with George Mahan Jr. (1887-1967) — was responsible for the design, with or without Arrasmith as the consulting architect

 

• restoration architect Robert Parker Adams acquired the then threatened bldg. in 1988, moved in after restoration, retaining the original neon sign —Wikipedia

 

The Farish Street Historic District

 

“but out of the bitterness we wrought an ancient past here in this separate place and made our village here.” —African Village by Margaret Walker (1915-1998)

 

• during the Reconstruction era that followed the American Civil War, white Southerners struggled to reclaim their lives as millions of black Southerners sought new ones • with the stroke of a pen, the Emancipation Proclamation had transformed African slaves into African Americans & released them into hostile, vengeful & well-armed white communities amid the ruins of a once flourishing society

 

• the antebellum South had been home to over 262,000 rights-restricted "free blacks" • post-emancipation, the free black population soared to 4.1 million • given that the South had sacrificed 20% of it's white males to the war, blacks now comprised over half the total population of some southern states • uneducated & penniless, most of the new black Americans depended on the Freedman's Bureau for food & clothing

 

• the social & political implications of this disruptive shift in demographics fueled a violence-laced strain of American racism • in this toxic environment, de facto racial segregation was a given, ordained as Mississippi law in 1890 • with Yankees (the U.S. Army) patrolling Jackson & Maine-born Republican Adelbert Ames installed in the Governor's Mansion, the Farish Street neighborhood was safe haven for freedmen

 

• as homeless African American refugees poured into Jackson from all reaches of the devastated state, a black economy flickered to life in the form of a few Farish Street mom-and-pops • unwelcome at white churches, the liberated slaves built their own, together with an entire neighborhood's worth of buildings, most erected between 1890 & 1930

 

• by 1908 1/3 of the district was black-owned, & half of the black families were homeowners • the 1913-1914 business directory listed 11 African American attorneys, 4 doctors, 3 dentists, 2 jewelers, 2 loan companies & a bank, all in the Farish St. neighborhood • the community also had 2 hospitals & numerous retail & service stores —City Data

 

• by mid-20th c. Farish Street, the state's largest economically independent African American community, had become the cultural, political & business hub for central Mississippi's black citizens [photos] • on Saturdays, countryfolk would come to town on special busses to sell produce & enjoy BBQ while they listened to live street music • vendors sold catfish fried in large black kettles over open fires • hot tamales, a Mississippi staple, were also a popular street food —The Farish District, Its Architecture and Cultural Heritage

 

“I’ve seen pictures. You couldn’t even get up the street. It was a two-way street back then, and it was wall-to-wall folks. It was just jam-packed: people shopping, people going to clubs, people eating, people dancing.” — Geno Lee, owner of the Big Apple Inn

 

• as Jackson's black economy grew, Farish Street entertainment venues prospered, drawing crowds with live & juke blues music • the musicians found or first recorded in the Neighborhood include Robert Johnson, Sonny Boy Williamson II & Elmore James

 

• Farish Street was also home to talent scouts & record labels like H.C. Speir, & Trumpet Records, Ace Records • both Speir & Trumpet founder Lillian McMurry were white Farish St. business owners whose furniture stores also housed recording studios • both discovered & promoted local Blues musicians —The Mississippi Encyclopedia

 

• Richard Henry Beadle (1884-1971), a prominent Jackson photographer, had a studio at 199-1/2 N. Farish • he was the son of Samuel Alfred Beadle (1857-1932), African-American poet & attorney • born the son of a slave, he was the author of 3 published books of poetry & stories

 

• The Alamo Theatre was mainly a movie theater but periodically presented musical acts such as Nat King Cole, Elmore James & Otis Spann • Wednesday was talent show night • 12 year old Jackson native Dorothy Moore entered the contest, won & went on to a successful recording career, highlighted by her 1976 no. 1 R&B hit, "Misty Blue" [listen] (3:34)

 

• in their heyday, Farish Street venues featured African American star performers such as Bessie Smith & the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington & Dinah Washington —Farish Street Records

 

• on 28 May, 1963, John Salter, a mixed race (white/Am. Indian) professor at historically black Tougaloo College, staged a sit-in with 3 African American students at the "Whites Only" Woolworth's lunch counter in downtown Jackson • they were refused service • an estimated 300 white onlookers & reporters filled the store

 

• police officers arrived but did not intercede as, in the words of student Anne Moody, "all hell broke loose" while she and the other black students at the counter prayed • "A man rushed forward, threw [student] Memphis from his seat and slapped my face. Then another man who worked in the store threw me against an adjoining counter." • this act of civil disobedience is remembered as the the signature event of Jackson's protest movement —L.A. Times

 

"This was the most violently attacked sit-in during the 1960s and is the most publicized. A huge mob gathered, with open police support while the three of us sat there for three hours. I was attacked with fists, brass knuckles and the broken portions of glass sugar containers, and was burned with cigarettes. I'm covered with blood and we were all covered by salt, sugar, mustard, and various other things." —John Salter

 

• the Woolworth Sit-in was one of many non-violent protests by blacks against racial segregation in the South • in 1969 integration of Jackson's public schools began • this new era in Jackson history also marked the beginning of Farish Street's decline —The Farish Street Project

 

"Integration was a great thing for black people, but it was not a great thing for black business... Before integration, Farish Street was the black mecca of Mississippi.” — Geno Lee, Big Apple Inn

 

• for African Americans, integration offered the possibility to shop outside of the neighborhood at white owned stores • as increasing numbers of black shoppers did so, Farish Street traffic declined, businesses closed & the vacated buildings fell into disrepair

 

• in 1983, a Farish St. redevelopment plan was presented

• in 1995 the street was designated an endangered historic place by the National Trust for Historic Preservation

• in the 1990s, having redeveloped Memphis' Beale Street, Performa Entertainment Real Estate was selected to redevelop Farish St

• in 2008, The Farish Street Group took over the project with plans for a B.B. King's Blues Club to anchor the entertainment district

• in 2012, having spent $21 million, the redevelopment — limited to repaving of the street, stabilizating some abandoned buildings & demolishing many of the rest — was stuck in limbo —Michael Minn

 

• 2017 update:

 

"Six mayors and 20 years after the City of Jackson became involved in efforts to develop the Farish Street Historic District, in hopes of bringing it back to the bustling state of its heyday, the project sits at a standstill. Recent Mayor Tony Yarber has referred to the district as “an albatross.” In September of 2014, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sanctioned the City of Jackson, the Jackson Redevelopment Authority, and developers for misspending federal funds directed toward the development of the Farish Street Historic District. Work is at a halt and "not scheduled to resume until December 2018, when the City of Jackson repays HUD $1.5 million." —Mississippi Dept. of Archives & History

 

• Farish Street Neighborhood Historic District, National Register # 80002245, 1980

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