Jackson State University: Inclusive Or Exclusive?

Jackson State University is a public, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. Founded in 1877 as Natchez Seminary, the university has undergone several name changes and curriculum expansions over the years. As of 2022-2023, the university had a total enrollment of 6,906 students, with 4,927 undergraduates and 1,979 graduate students. Of these, 6,402 students identified as Black, 182 as White, 21 as Asian, and the rest from other racial/ethnic backgrounds. While Jackson State University has a principal mission of serving and educating the Black community, it is not restricted to Black or African American students, and white students can also attend.

Jackson State University's history as a historically black college

Jackson State University (JSU) is a public, historically black university located in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1877 as Natchez Seminary in Natchez, Mississippi, by the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. The seminary was established "for the moral, religious, and intellectual improvement of Christian leaders of the coloured people of Mississippi and the neighbouring states". Natchez Seminary's first enrolled class included 20 formerly enslaved men who trained to be ministers and teachers.

In 1882, the seminary moved to Jackson, and in 1899 it was renamed Jackson College. In 1934, during the Great Depression, the Baptist Society withdrew financial support. The school became a state-supported public institution in 1940 as the Mississippi Negro Training School. The name changed again in 1944 to the Jackson College for Negro Teachers. After desegregation in the mid-1960s, the college's name changed to Jackson State College in 1967. Finally, with the addition of graduate programs and an expanded curriculum, Jackson State College became Jackson State University in 1974.

Jackson State University has a rich history of civil rights activism. Many students became active in the civil rights movement, and this work continued after civil rights legislation was passed in the 1960s. On May 14, 1970, two students were killed by police gunfire during an on-campus protest, and 12 others were injured. A dormitory still bears the bullet marks from that day.

Today, Jackson State University is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth-largest university in Mississippi in terms of student enrollment. The university offers a range of academic programs, including bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. It is also home to several notable organisations, such as the Sonic Boom of the South marching band and the Prancing J-Settes dance line.

The demographics of Jackson State University

Jackson State University (JSU) is a public, historically black, research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth-largest university in Mississippi in terms of student enrollment.

For the 2022-2023 academic year, JSU had a total enrollment of 6,906 students, with 4,927 undergraduates and 1,979 graduate students. The gender breakdown for the same period was 2,307 male and 4,599 female students, with a male-female ratio of 33:67.

In terms of racial/ethnic diversity, JSU's student population for the 2022-2023 academic year was comprised of 182 White, 6,402 Black, and 21 Asian students. Additionally, there were students from other racial/ethnic backgrounds, including Native American and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

JSU has a diverse student body in terms of age as well, with 39.50% of students falling into the traditional college age category of 18-21, compared to a national average of 60%. The university also attracts students from a range of geographic locations, with 52.01% of students coming from out of state and 1.39% from outside the United States.

The university offers a wide range of extracurricular activities, with over 60 registered student organizations, including academic, residential, religious, Greek, and special interest groups. JSU also has a strong athletic program, with teams participating in NCAA Division I athletics as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

Jackson State University's athletic teams

The Tigers football team has enjoyed national prominence since joining the SWAC in 1958, with the 1980s being the team's most successful period. Under head coach W.C. Gorden, the Tigers won eight conference championships between 1980 and 1990, including four consecutive wins from 1985 to 1988. Overall, the team has won 19 conference championships since 1958, with the most recent win in 2024 against the South Carolina State Bulldogs. This victory secured their first National HBCU Football Championship since 1996.

Jackson State University's football program has produced over 90 professional football players, including four Pro Football Hall of Famers: Lem Barney, Walter Payton, Robert Brazile, and Jackie Slater. The university is also home to the Sonic Boom of the South, a marching band founded in the 1940s, and their accompanying dance line, the Prancing J-Settes, known for their unique dance style, J-Setting.

In addition to football, Jackson State University fields teams in basketball, track and field, cross country, baseball, softball, golf, tennis, soccer, bowling, and volleyball. The university's mascot is the Tiger, and the teams are sometimes referred to as the "Blue Bengals."

The Jackson State University shooting

Jackson State University is a historically black college or university (HBCU) with a principal mission of serving and educating the Black community. However, white students can still attend the university. In the 2022-2023 academic year, 182 out of 6,906 students were white.

On May 14, 1970, two Jackson State College students were killed, and twelve were injured by police gunfire during an on-campus protest. The shooting occurred eleven days after the Kent State shootings, where National Guardsmen killed four students at Kent State University during a protest against the Vietnam War.

On the evening of May 14, around 100 Black students had gathered on Lynch Street, which bisected the campus. African-American youths were reportedly throwing rocks at white motorists driving down the road, a frequent site of confrontations between white and Black Jackson residents. Tensions escalated when a non-Jackson State student set a dump truck on fire, and a rumor spread that local politician, civil rights leader, and brother of slain activist Medgar Evers, Charles Evers, and his wife had been killed.

The police responded with at least 75 officers, who attempted to control the crowd while firefighters extinguished the fires. After the firefighters left the scene, the police moved to disperse the crowd that had gathered in front of Alexander Hall, a women's dormitory. Shortly after midnight, the officers opened fire on the dormitory.

The exact cause of the shooting is unclear. Authorities claimed they saw a sniper on one of the building's upper floors and were being shot at from all directions. However, an FBI search found no evidence of sniper fire, and students claimed they had not provoked the officers. The gunfire lasted for 30 seconds, with more than 460 shots fired by approximately 40 state highway patrolmen using shotguns from a distance of 30 to 50 feet.

The two students killed in the shooting were Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, 21, a junior, and James Earl Green, 17, a senior at nearby Jim Hill High School. Twelve others were wounded, and many were trampled or cut by falling glass as the crowd scattered.

The university has memorialized the victims by naming the area of the shootings Gibbs-Green Plaza and erecting a large stone monument in front of Alexander Hall. Damage from the gunfire is still visible on the façade of the building.

In response to the shooting, President Richard Nixon established the President's Commission on Campus Unrest to investigate the events at Jackson State and Kent State. The Commission concluded that the police response was "an unreasonable, unjustified overreaction," and no arrests were made in connection with the deaths.

In December 1970, a federal grand jury failed to produce an indictment or written findings after summoning about 40 state patrolmen and 26 city police officers. It was not until 2021 that Jackson State University received a formal public apology from local and state leaders of Mississippi, who reflected on the event as "The Jackson State Killings," and awarded posthumous honorary doctorate degrees to Gibbs and Green.

The Jackson State University satellite campuses

Jackson State University (JSU) is a public, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States and has satellite campuses throughout the Jackson Metropolitan area.

The satellite campuses are:

• Universities Center (Ridgewood Road)
• Jackson Medical Mall (Woodrow Wilson)
• Mississippi E-Center
• Downtown (100 Capitol Street)

The main campus contains over 50 academic and administrative buildings on 245 acres. It is located at 1400 John R. Lynch Street between Prentiss and Dalton Streets.

JSU is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The university is also home to the Sonic Boom of the South, a marching band founded in the 1940s.

JSU offers a range of academic programs and is committed to educating and serving the black community.

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