The post of Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi , was begun in 1834 and was originally referred to as "President of Selectmen" before being changed to "Mayor". Harvey Johnson Jr. elected in 1997 became the city's first black mayor. All of the mayors since have also been African American. The following individuals have held the office:
Elections in Mississippi |
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Image | President of Selectmen | Years | Notes/Citation |
---|---|---|---|
Thomas H. Dickson | 1834 | ||
S.P. Baley | 1835 | ||
Thomas H. Dickson | 1836 | ||
S.P. Baley | 1836 | ||
John P. Oldham | 1837–1838 | ||
Image | Mayor | Years | Notes/Citation |
---|---|---|---|
John P. Oldham | 1839 | ||
H.R. McDonald | 1840 | ||
John P. Oldham (2nd term) | 1840–1841 | ||
James H. Boyd | 1842–1843 | ||
John P. Oldham (3rd term) | 1844–1849 | ||
James H. Boyd | 1850 | ||
J.P. Jones | 1851 | ||
William H. Taylor | 1852–1853 | ||
Richard Fletcher | 1854 | ||
William H. Taylor | 1855–1857 | ||
James H. Boyd (2nd term) | 1858 | ||
W.A. Purdom | 1859 | ||
Richard C. Kerr | 1860–1861 | ||
Charles Henry Manship | 1862–1863 | ||
D.N. Barrows | 1864–1867 | ||
Maj. Thomas H. Norton | 1868 | Union officer appointed as mayor [1] | |
Bvt. Lt. Col. James Biddle | 1868 | Union officer appointed as mayor | |
Col. James P. Sessions (J. P. Sessions) | 1868–1869 | Native of Natchez, Mississippi, former Confederate officer, died April 3, 1886 [2] | |
Rhesa Hatcher | 1869 | [3] | |
Bvt. Lt. Col. Joseph G. Crane | 1869 | Union officer appointed as mayor; stabbed to death by Edward M. Yerger, a former Confederate officer | |
Captain F.A. Field | 1869 | Union officer appointed as mayor | |
A. Way Kelly | 1869 | ||
E. W. Cabaniss | 1869–1870 [4] | ||
![]() | Oliver Clifton | 1870–1871 | |
Rhesa Hatcher (2nd term) | 1871–1872 | ||
Marion Smith | 1872–1874 | ||
John McGill | 1874–1888 | ||
William Henry | 1888–1893 | ||
L.F. Chiles | 1893–1895 | He served as Assistant Secretary of the Mississippi Senate [5] He was also a deputy sheriff, alderman, and secretary of the Mississippi Fair Association. Testimony was given he proposed taking Charlie Morgan down to the swamp and tying him to a tree with someone posted to watch him until after an election because he was a leader of "negroes" [6] | |
![]() | Oliver Clifton (2nd term) | 1895–1897 | |
Ramsey Wharton | 1897–1899 | ||
H.M. Taylor | 1899 | ||
W.W. Morrison | 1899 | Mayor Pro Tem | |
John W. Todd | 1899–1901 | ||
William Hemingway | 1901–1905 | ||
![]() | Oliver Clifton (3rd term) | 1905 | died before taking office |
Ramsey Wharton (2nd term) | 1905–1909 | ||
| A.C. Crowder | 1909–1913 | |
S.J. Taylor | 1913–1917 | ||
Walter A. Scott | 1917–1945 | ||
Leland L. Speed | 1945–1949 | ||
Allen C. Thompson | 1949–1969 | ||
![]() | Russell C. Davis | 1969–1977 | |
Dale Danks | 1977–1989 | ||
![]() | J. Kane Ditto | 1989–1997 | |
![]() | Harvey Johnson, Jr. | 1997–2005 | first African American Mayor of Jackson |
![]() | Frank Melton | 2005–2009 | died in office |
![]() | Leslie B. McLemore | 2009 | interim mayor |
![]() | Harvey Johnson Jr. (2nd term) | 2009–2013 | |
![]() | Chokwe Lumumba | 2013–2014 | died in office |
Charles Tillman | 2014 | ||
Tony Yarber | 2014–2017 | ||
![]() | Chokwe Antar Lumumba | 2017–present | [7] |
Jackson is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Along with Raymond, Jackson is one of two county seats for Hinds County. The city had a population of 153,701 at the 2020 census, a significant decline from 173,514, or 11.42%, since the 2010 census, representing the largest decline in population during the decade of any major U.S. city. Jackson is the anchor for the Jackson metropolitan statistical area, the largest metropolitan area located entirely in the state and the tenth-largest urban area in the Deep South. With a 2020 population of nearly 600,000, metropolitan Jackson is home to over one-fifth of Mississippi's population. The city sits on the Pearl River and is located in the greater Jackson Prairie region of Mississippi. Jackson is the only city in Mississippi with a population exceeding 100,000 people.
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Mississippi face legal challenges and discrimination not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. LGBT rights in Mississippi are limited in comparison to other states. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Mississippi as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas. Same-sex marriage has been recognized since June 2015 in accordance with the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. State statutes do not address discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal under federal law. The state capital Jackson and a number of other cities provide protections in housing and public accommodations as well.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Jackson, Mississippi, USA.
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Five characters date from the Civil War era. Glenn Elliott will portray Maj. Thomas H. Norton, decorated Union soldier and later the military mayor of Jackson, Miss., during Reconstruction.