“Black Christmas” reached Jackson in December 1962 as students and community leaders boycotted downtown merchants. They demanded courtesy titles, equality in employment, and an end to all Jim Crow practices. On May 28, 1963, Tougaloo students and faculty sat-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter. They were assaulted by a White mob of Jackson Central High students and had to be escorted out by police. The scene was shown on the local news and transformed the boycott into a mass movement.
Pictured: A black and white photograph of Tougaloo professor John Salter and students Joan Trumpauer and Anne Moody sitting-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter. Some White protesters dump food and condiments on the students while others watch.
Credit: Fred Blackwell
