Herbert L. Jackson
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
from the 21st Middlesex district
In office
1951–1955
Preceded byGeorge O'Farrell
Succeeded byGeorge O'Farrell
Personal details
Born
Herbert Loring Jackson

(1908-10-20)October 20, 1908
Malden, Massachusetts, United States
DiedSeptember 5, 1978(1978-09-05) (aged 69)
Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, United States
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDoris Pope
Children3

Herbert Loring Jackson (October 20, 1908 – September 5, 1978) was an American politician who was the first black city councilor in Malden, Massachusetts and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

Early life

Jackson was born on October 20, 1908, in Malden.[1] He was the youngest of 13 children born to a former slave.[2] He graduated from Malden High School in 1927 and was class president.[3] He attended Suffolk University Law School and the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and was a professional actor for a short time.[3] After his father's death, Jackson took over his dry cleaning and tailoring shop.[3]

Politics

In 1945, Jackson became the first African American to run for the Malden city council.[4] He was elected to represent Ward 5, which was 99% white.[2] In 1949 he was joined on the council by Overton Crawford, making Malden the first Massachusetts city to have two black city council members.[5] In 1950, Jackson was elected council president, becoming the second African American in Massachusetts to hold this position (Springfield Commons Council president James Higgins was the first).[6] He served as council president again in 1965, 1971, and 1975.[7] Jackson remained on the city council until his retirement in 1975.[7]

From 1951 to 1955, Jackson represented the 21st Middlesex district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.[1] From 1963 to 1975, Jackson was an officer in the Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[3]

In 1976, the city council chamber in the new Malden government center was named after Jackson.[7] In 2021 the council chamber in the new Malden City Hall was named after Jackson.[8]

Personal life

Jackson was married to Doris Pope, granddaughter of James W. Pope, the second black member of the Boston Common Council.[7][9] Her brother, Lincoln Pope Jr., was also a member of the state legislature.[10] Jackson died on September 5, 1978, at his summer home in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. He was survived by his wife and three children.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Public Officers of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 1953-54. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Elected To City Council By Massachusetts Town's 99% White District". The Chicago Defender. March 23, 1946.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Herbert Jackson, Malden black pioneer". The Boston Globe. September 7, 1978.
  4. ↑ "Boston Elects a Negro In All White District". New York Amsterdam News. December 1, 1945.
  5. ↑ "Mass. Town Elects 1st 2 Negro Councilmen". The Chicago Defender. November 26, 1949.
  6. ↑ "Jackson Heads City Council". Afro-American. January 5, 1950.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Cash, William (December 25, 1977). "At 70, he thinks of running again". The Boston Globe.
  8. ↑ Laidler, John (August 31, 2021). "Malden names new City Council chambers for the late Herbert L. Jackson". The Boston Globe.
  9. ↑ Hayden, Bob (June 14, 1979). "Boston's Black History". Bay State Banner.
  10. ↑ Carden, Lance (2023). Witness: An Oral History of Black Politics in Boston 1920-1960. Wipf & Stock Publishers. p. 60. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
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