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Irene Dobbs Jackson
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Irene Dobbs Jackson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1908 |
| Died | 1999 (aged 90–91) |
| Spouse |
Maynard H. Jackson (died 1953) |
| Children | 6, including Maynard Jackson |
| Academic background | |
| Education |
|
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Spelman College |
Irene "Renie" Dobbs Jackson (née Dobbs, 1908–1999) was an American professor of French at Spelman College and a civil rights activist who helped desegregate Atlanta's public libraries, where African American patrons were only allowed to read books in the basement.
Irene Dobbs was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1908, to Irene (née Thompson) and John Wesley Dobbs, an American civil and political leader.[1] She was the eldest of the couple's six daughters,[2] including activist and civic leader Josephine Dobbs Clement (1918–1998), opera singer Mattiwilda Dobbs (1925–2015), and educator June Dobbs Butts (1928–2019).
Dobb attended Spelman College, where she studied French and graduated class valedictorian in 1929. She also studied at the University of Chicago, Middlebury College, the University of Grenoble, and the University of Toulouse. While in France, she corresponded with Martin Luther King Jr., whom she had known throughout her childhood. In 1958, she earned a doctorate from the University of Toulouse.[3][4]
Dobbs married Maynard H. Jackson, a pastor, though he died in 1953.[3] Like her mother, Jackson had six children, including Maynard Jackson,[3][4][5] who became the first African-American mayor of Atlanta and any major city in the Southern United States.[6]
Jackson taught at the distorically black colleges and universities of Bishop College, North Carolina Central University, and Spelman College,[3] the latter of which she spent nearly 50 years at.[4]
African Americans were only allowed to use a segregated branch library. Jackson pressed for a library card at the main branch and received one.[7] She was interviewed for the Civil Rights History Project.[8]
Jackson died in 1999, after which the Georgia House of Representatives passed a resolution commemorating her.[4]
In 2020, a redevelopment of the home she had with her husband was planned to provide affordable housing for Atlanta University graduate students and researchers.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "John Wesley Dobbs Family papers, 1873-2001 | Amistad Research Center". amistadresearchcenter.tulane.edu.[dead link]
- ^ "The Woman Behind a Family of History Makers: The Life of Dr. Irene Dobbs Jackson". Westside Future Fund. March 15, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
- ^ a b c d "From Irene Dobbs Jackson". The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. December 4, 2015.
- ^ a b c d "HR 664 - Jackson, Irene Dobbs; condolences - Fulltext". www.legis.ga.gov.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "100 Years of Library Service". afpls.org. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
- ^ Rice, Bradley R. (August 12, 2020) [2004-07-26]. "Maynard Jackson". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
- ^ "Sweet Auburn Avenue: The Buildings Tell Their Story".
- ^ "Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn research files and interviews - The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories (The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress)". www.loc.gov.
- ^ "Former Home Of Atlanta's First Black Mayor Maynard Jackson To Be Turned Into Affordable Housing". February 2, 2020.