Jackson is the
capital and
most populous city of the U.S. state of
Mississippi
Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
. The city sits on the
Pearl River and is located in the greater
Jackson Prairie region of Mississippi. Along with
Raymond
Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...
, Jackson is one of two county seats for
Hinds County. The city had a population of 153,701 at the
2020 census, a decline of 11.42% from 173,514 since the
2010 census, representing the largest decline in population during the decade of any
major U.S. city. The
Jackson metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area located entirely in the state and the tenth-largest urban area in the
Deep South, with 592,000 residents in 2020.
The city is located in the
Deep South halfway between
Memphis and
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
on
Interstate 55
Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...
and
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
and
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
on
Interstate 20. Founded in 1821 as new state capital for Mississippi, Jackson is named after General
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
, a war hero in the
Battle of New Orleans during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
and subsequently the seventh
U.S. president. Following the
Battle of Vicksburg, which was fought near Jackson during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
in 1863,
Union forces commanded by General
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...
launched the
siege of Jackson and set the city on fire. During the 1920s, Jackson surpassed
Meridian to become the most populous city in the state following a speculative
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
boom in the region.
The slogan for Jackson is "The City with Soul". It has had numerous musicians prominent in
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
,
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
,
folk, and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
. The city has a number of museums and cultural institutions, including the
Mississippi Children's Museum,
Mississippi Museum of Natural Science,
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum,
Mississippi Museum of Art,
Old Capital Museum,
Museum of Mississippi History. Other notable locations are the
Mississippi Coliseum and the
Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, home of the
Jackson State Tigers football team. In 2020, the Jackson metropolitan area held a
GDP of $30 billion, accounting for 29% of the state's total GDP.
History
Founding and antebellum period (to 1860)

The Jackson area was historically populated by the
Choctaw, the majority of whom were forcibly
removed to Oklahoma following Andrew Jackson's signing of the
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States president Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, ...
in 1830.
However, per the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, Choctaws could remain in Mississippi where they would be granted citizenship.
Located on the historic
Natchez Trace trade route, the Choctaw town that stood where Jackson is today was called , meaning "Among the
post oaks." The city's first European American settler was Louis LeFleur, a
French-Canadian trader. The village became known as
LeFleur's Bluff.
During the late 18th century and early 19th century, this site had a
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...
. It was connected to markets in
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
. Soldiers returning to Tennessee from the military campaigns near
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
in 1815 built a public road that connected
Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana to this district. A United States treaty with the Choctaw, the
Treaty of Doak's Stand in 1820, formally opened the area for non-Native American settlers.
LeFleur's Bluff was developed when it was chosen as the site for the new state's
capital city
A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...
. The
Mississippi General Assembly decided in 1821 that the state needed a centrally located capital (the legislature was then located in
Natchez). They commissioned
Thomas Hinds, James Patton, and William Lattimore to look for a suitable site. The absolute center of the state was a swamp, so the group had to widen their search.
After surveying areas north and east of Jackson, they proceeded southwest along with the
Pearl River until they reached LeFleur's Bluff in today's Hinds County.
Their report to the General Assembly stated that this location had beautiful and healthful surroundings, good water, abundant timber, navigable waters, and proximity to the
Natchez Trace. The Assembly passed an act on November 28, 1821, authorizing the site as the permanent seat of the government of the state of Mississippi.
On the same day, it passed a resolution to instruct the
Washington delegation to press
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
for a donation of public lands on the river for improved navigation to the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
. One
Whig politician lamented the new capital as a "serious violation of principle" because it was not at the absolute center of the state.
The capital was named for General
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...
, to honor his January 1815 victory at the
Battle of New Orleans during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. He was later elected as the seventh
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
.
The city of Jackson was originally planned, in April 1822, by
Peter Aaron Van Dorn in a "
checkerboard" pattern advocated by
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
.
City blocks alternated with parks and other open spaces. Over time, many of the park squares have been
developed rather than maintained as
green space. The state legislature first met in Jackson on December 23, 1822. In 1839, the Mississippi Legislature passed the first state law in the U.S. to permit married women to own and administer their own property.
Jackson was connected by public road to
Vicksburg and
Clinton in 1826. Jackson was first connected by railroad to other cities in 1840. An 1844 map shows Jackson linked by an east–west rail line running between Vicksburg,
Raymond
Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...
, and
Brandon. Unlike Vicksburg,
Greenville, and
Natchez, Jackson is not located on the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
, and it did not develop during the
antebellum era as those cities did from major river commerce. The construction of railroad lines to the city sparked its growth in the decades following the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
.
American Civil War

Despite its small population, during the Civil War, Jackson became a strategic center of manufacturing for the
Confederacy. In 1863, during the military campaign which ended in the
capture of Vicksburg,
Union forces captured Jackson during two battles—once before the fall of Vicksburg and once after the fall of Vicksburg.
On May 13, 1863, Union forces won the first
Battle of Jackson, forcing
Confederate forces to flee northward towards
Canton. On May 14, Union troops under the command of
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...
burned and looted key facilities in Jackson, a strategic manufacturing and railroad center for the Confederacy.
After driving the Confederate forces out of Jackson, Union forces turned west and engaged the Vicksburg defenders at the
Battle of Champion Hill in nearby
Edwards. The Union forces began their siege of Vicksburg soon after their victory at Champion Hill. Confederate forces began to reassemble in Jackson in preparation for an attempt to break through the Union lines surrounding Vicksburg and end the siege. The Confederate forces in Jackson built defensive
fortification
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
s encircling the city while preparing to march west to Vicksburg.
Confederate forces marched out of Jackson in early July 1863 to break the siege of Vicksburg. But, unknown to them, Vicksburg had already surrendered on July 4, 1863. General
Ulysses S. Grant dispatched General Sherman to meet the Confederate forces heading west from Jackson. Upon learning that Vicksburg had already surrendered, the Confederates retreated into Jackson. Union forces began the
siege of Jackson, which lasted for approximately one week. Union forces encircled the city and began an
artillery
Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
bombardment. One of the Union artillery emplacements has been preserved on the grounds of the
University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
John C. Breckinridge, former United States
vice president
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
, served as one of the Confederate generals defending Jackson. On July 16, 1863, Confederate forces slipped out of Jackson during the night and retreated across the Pearl River.
Union forces completely burned the city after its capture this second time. The city was called "Chimneyville" because only the chimneys of houses were left standing.
The northern line of Confederate defenses in Jackson during the siege was located along a road near downtown Jackson, now known as Fortification Street.

Because of the siege and following destruction, few
antebellum structures have survived in Jackson. The
Governor's Mansion, built in 1842, served as Sherman's headquarters and has been preserved. Another is the
Old Capitol building, which served as the home of the Mississippi state legislature from 1839 to 1903. The Mississippi legislature passed the ordinance of
secession
Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...
from the Union there on January 9, 1861, becoming the second state to secede from the United States. The
Jackson City Hall, built in 1846 for less than $8,000, also survived. It is said that Sherman, a
Mason, spared it because it housed a
Masonic Lodge
A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry.
It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...
, though a more likely reason is that it housed an army hospital. Additionally, the Manship House (Ca. 1857) survives.
Reconstruction
During
Reconstruction, African Americans were granted civil rights. Schools were established and African Americans held political offices.
Eugene Welborne,
Charles Reese,
Weldon Hicks, and
George Caldwell Granberry were among the legislators who represented Hinds County in the legislature. African Americans also served in local offices, as judges, and as marshalls.
Mississippi had considerable insurgent action, as whites struggled to maintain white supremacy. Jackson's appointed mayor
Joseph G. Crane was stabbed to death in 1869. The assailant,
Edward M. Yerger, was arrested by military authorities but, after a U.S. Supreme Court case (
Ex parte Yerger), he was bonded out, moved to Baltimore and was never tried.
The economic recovery from the Civil War was slow through the start of the 20th century, but there were some developments in transportation. In 1871, the city introduced mule-drawn streetcars which ran on State Street, which were replaced by electric ones in 1899. In 1875, the
Red Shirts were formed, one of the second waves of insurgent
paramilitary
A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934.
Overview
Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...
organizations that essentially operated as "the military arm of the Democratic Party" to take back political power from the Republicans and to drive black people from the polls (
Mississippi Plan).
Post-Reconstruction
Democrats regained control of the state legislature in 1876. The constitutional convention of 1890, which produced Mississippi's Constitution of 1890, was held at the capitol.
This was the first of new constitutions or amendments ratified in each Southern state through 1908 that effectively
disenfranchised most
African Americans
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
and many poor whites, through provisions making voter registration more difficult: such as
poll taxes, residency requirements, and
literacy tests. These provisions survived a Supreme Court challenge in 1898. As 20th-century Supreme Court decisions later ruled such provisions were unconstitutional, Mississippi and other Southern states rapidly devised new methods to continue disfranchisement of most black people, who comprised a majority in the state until the 1930s. Their exclusion from politics was maintained into the late 1960s.
The so-called
New Capitol replaced the older structure upon its completion in 1903. Today the Old Capitol is operated as a historical museum.
Early 20th century (1901–1960)

Author
Eudora Welty was born in Jackson in 1909, lived most of her life in the Belhaven section of the city, and died there in 2001. Her
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
of development as a writer, ''
One Writer's Beginnings'' (1984), presented a picture of the city in the early 20th century. She won the
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
in 1973 for her novel, ''
The Optimist's Daughter,'' and is best known for her novels and short stories. The main library of the
Jackson/Hinds Library System was named in her honor, and her home has been designated as a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
.
Richard Wright, a highly acclaimed African-American author, lived in Jackson as an adolescent and young man in the 1910s and 1920s. He related his experience in his memoir ''
Black Boy'' (1945). He described the harsh and largely terror-filled life most African Americans experienced in the South and Northern ghettos such as
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
under
segregation in the early 20th century.
Jackson had significant growth in the early 20th century, which produced dramatic changes in the city's skyline. Jackson's new
Union Station
A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
downtown reflected the city's service by multiple rail lines, including the
Illinois Central.
Across the street, the new, luxurious
King Edward Hotel opened its doors in 1923, having been built according to a design by New Orleans architect
William T. Nolan. It became a center for prestigious events held by Jackson society and Mississippi politicians. Nearby, the 18-story
Standard Life Building, designed in 1929 by Claude Lindsley, was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world upon its completion.
Jackson's economic growth was further stimulated in the 1930s by the discovery of
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
fields nearby. Speculators had begun searching for oil and natural gas in Jackson beginning in 1920. The initial drilling attempts came up empty. This failure did not stop Ella Render from obtaining a lease from the state's insane asylum to begin a well on its grounds in 1924, where he found natural gas. (Render eventually lost the rights when courts determined that the asylum did not have the right to lease the state's property.) Businessmen jumped on the opportunity and dug wells in the Jackson area. The continued success of these ventures attracted further investment. By 1930, there were 14 derricks in the Jackson skyline.
Mississippi Governor
Theodore Bilbo stated:
This enthusiasm was subdued when the first wells failed to produce oil of a sufficiently high gravity for commercial success. The barrels of oil had considerable amounts of saltwater, which lessened the quality. The governor's prediction was wrong in hindsight, but the oil and natural gas industry did provide an economic boost for the city and state. The effects of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
were mitigated by the industry's success. At its height in 1934, there were 113 producing wells in the state. The overwhelming majority were closed by 1955.
Due to provisions in the federal
Rivers and Harbors Act, on October 25, 1930, city leaders met with U.S. Army engineers to ask for federal help to alleviate Jackson flooding. J.J. Halbert, city engineer, proposed a straightening and dredging of the
Pearl River below Jackson.
Jackson's Gold Coast
During Mississippi's extended
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
period, from the 1920s until the 1960s, illegal drinking and gambling casinos flourished on the east side of the Pearl River, in
Flowood along with the original
U.S. Route 80 just across from the city of Jackson. Those illegal casinos, bootleg liquor stores, and nightclubs made up the Gold Coast, a strip of mostly
black-market businesses that operated for decades along Flowood Road. Although outside the law, the Gold Coast was a thriving center of nightlife and music, with many local blues musicians appearing regularly in the clubs.
The Gold Coast declined and businesses disappeared after Mississippi's prohibition laws were repealed in 1966, allowing Hinds County, including Jackson, to go "wet". In addition,
integration drew off business from establishments that earlier had catered to African Americans, such as the
Summers Hotel. When it opened in 1943 on Pearl Street, it was one of two hotels in the city that served black clients. For years its Subway Lounge was a prime performance spot for black musicians playing jazz and blues.
In another major change, in 1990 the state-approved gaming on riverboats. Numerous casinos have been developed on riverboats, mostly in
Mississippi Delta towns such as
Tunica Resorts,
Greenville, and
Vicksburg, as well as
Biloxi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...
on the
Gulf Coast. Before the damage and losses due to
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...
in 2005, the state ranked second nationally in gambling revenues.
World War II and later development
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
,
Hawkins Field (at that time, also known as the Jackson Army Airbase) the American 21st, 309th, and 310th Bomber Groups that were stationed at the base were re-deployed for combat. Following the
German invasion of the Netherlands and the
Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies, between 688 and 800 members of the Dutch Airforce escaped to the UK or Australia for training and, out of necessity, were eventually given permission by the United States to make use of Hawkins Field.
From May 1942 until the end of the war, all Dutch military aircrews trained at the base and went on to serve in either the British or Australian Air Forces.
In 1949, the poet
Margaret Walker began teaching at
Jackson State University, a
historically black college
Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...
. She taught there until 1979 and founded the university's Center for African-American Studies. Her poetry collection won a
Yale Younger Poets Prize. Her second novel, ''
Jubilee'' (1966), is considered a major work of African-American literature. She has influenced many younger writers.
Civil rights movement in Jackson
The
civil rights movement had been active for decades, particularly mounting legal challenges to Mississippi's constitution and laws that disfranchised black people. Beginning in 1960, Jackson as the state capital became the site for dramatic non-violent protests in a new phase of activism that brought in a wide variety of participants in the performance of mass demonstrations.
In 1960, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Jackson's population as 64.3% white and 35.7% black.
At the time, public facilities were segregated and
Jim Crow
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...
was in effect. Efforts to
desegregate Jackson facilities began when nine
Tougaloo College students tried to read books in the "white only" public library and were arrested. Founded as a
historically black college
Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...
(HBCU) by the
American Missionary Association after the Civil War,
Tougaloo College helped organize both black and white students of the region to work together for civil rights. It created partnerships with the neighboring mostly white
Millsaps College to work with student activists. It has been recognized as a site on the "Civil Rights Trail" by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
.
The mass demonstrations of the 1960s were initiated with the arrival of more than 300
Freedom Riders on May 24, 1961. They were arrested in Jackson for
disturbing the peace after they disembarked from their interstate buses. The interracial teams rode the buses from
Washington, D.C., and sat together to demonstrate against segregation on public transportation, as the Constitution provides for unrestricted public transportation. Although the Freedom Riders had intended
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
as their final destination, Jackson was the farthest that any managed to travel. New participants kept joining the movement, as they intended to fill the jails in Jackson with their protest. The riders had encountered extreme violence along the way, including a bus burning and physical assaults. They attracted national media attention to the struggle for constitutional rights.
After the Freedom Rides, students and activists of the Freedom Movement launched a series of merchant
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
s, sit-ins and protest marches, from 1961 to 1963. Businesses discriminated against black customers. For instance, at the time, department stores did not hire black salesclerks or allow black customers to use their fitting rooms to try on clothes, or lunch counters for meals while in the store, but they wanted them to shop in their stores.
In Jackson, shortly after midnight on June 12, 1963,
Medgar Evers
Medgar Wiley Evers (; July 2, 1925June 12, 1963) was an American civil rights activist and soldier who was the NAACP's first field secretary in Mississippi. Evers, a United States Army veteran who served in World War II, was engaged in efforts ...
, civil rights activist and leader of the Mississippi chapter of the
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...
, was assassinated by
Byron De La Beckwith, a
white supremacist associated with the
White Citizens' Council. Thousands marched in Evers' funeral procession to protest the killing. Two trials at the time both resulted in
hung juries. A portion of
U.S. Highway 49, all of Delta Drive, a library, the central post office for the city, and
Jackson–Evers International Airport were named in honor of Medgar Evers. In 1994, prosecutors Ed Peters and
Bobby DeLaughter finally obtained a murder conviction in a state trial of De La Beckwith based on new evidence.
During 1963 and 1964, civil rights organizers gathered residents for voter education and
voter registration
In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise Suffrage, eligible to Voting, vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted ...
. Black people had been essentially disfranchised since 1890. In a pilot project in 1963, activists rapidly registered 80,000 voters across the state, demonstrating the desire of African Americans to vote. In 1964 they created the
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party as an alternative to the all-white state Democratic Party, and sent an alternate slate of candidates to the national Democratic Party convention in
Atlantic City, New Jersey, that year.
Segregation and the disfranchisement of African Americans gradually ended after the Civil Rights Movement gained Congressional passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
and
Voting Rights Act of 1965. In June 1966, Jackson was the terminus of the James Meredith March, organized by
James Meredith, the first
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
to enroll at the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...
. The march, which began in
Memphis, Tennessee, was an attempt to garner support for full implementation of civil rights in practice, following the legislation. It was accompanied by a new drive to register African Americans to vote in Mississippi. In this latter goal, it succeeded in registering between 2,500 and 3,000 black Mississippians to vote. The march ended on June 26 after Meredith, who had been wounded by a sniper's bullet earlier on the march, addressed a large rally of some 15,000 people in Jackson.
In September 1967 a
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...
chapter bombed the synagogue of the
Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, and in November bombed the house of its rabbi, Dr.
Perry Nussbaum.
[History of Beth Israel, Jackson, Mississippi](_blank)
, Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life website, History Department, Digital Archive, Mississippi, Jackson, Beth Israel. Retrieved August 17, 2008. He and his congregation had supported civil rights.
Gradually the old barriers came down. Since that period, both whites and
Black Americans in the state have had a consistently high rate of voter registration and turnout. Following the decades of the
Great Migration, when more than one million black people left the rural South, since the 1930s the state has been majority white in total population. African Americans are a majority in the city of Jackson, although the metropolitan area is majority white. African Americans are also a majority in several cities and counties of the
Mississippi Delta, which are included in the
2nd congressional district. The other three congressional districts are majority white.
Mid-1960s to present
The first successful cadaveric
lung
The lungs are the primary Organ (biology), organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the Vertebral column, backbone on either side of the heart. Their ...
transplant was performed at the
University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson in June 1963 by Dr.
James Hardy. Hardy transplanted the cadaveric lung into a patient suffering from lung cancer. The patient survived for eighteen days before dying of
kidney failure.
In 1966 it was estimated that recurring flood damage at Jackson from the Pearl River averaged nearly a million dollars per year. The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spent $6.8 million on
levee
A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...
s and a new channel in 1966 before the project completion to prevent a flood equal to the December 1961 event plus an additional foot.
Since 1968, Jackson has been the home of
Malaco Records, one of the leading record companies for
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
,
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, and
soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...
in the United States. In January 1973,
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...
recorded the songs "Learn How to Fall" and "Take Me to the Mardi Gras", found on the album ''
There Goes Rhymin' Simon'', in Jackson at the Malaco Recording Studios. Many well-known Southern artists recorded on the album, including the
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, Roger Hawkins, Barry Beckett),
Carson Whitsett, the
Onward Brass Band from New Orleans, and others. The label has recorded many leading soul and blues artists, including
Bobby Bland,
ZZ Hill,
Latimore,
Shirley Brown,
Denise LaSalle, and
Tyrone Davis.
On May 15, 1970,
Jackson police killed two students and wounded twelve at
Jackson State College after a protest of the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
included students' overturning and burning some cars. These killings occurred eleven days after the
National Guard
National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
...
killed four students in an anti-war protest at
Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...
in
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, and were part of national social unrest. ''
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' cited the Jackson State killings in its issue of May 18 when it suggested that U.S. President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
faced a new
home front.
The influx of illegal drugs occurred nationally as smugglers used the highways, seaports, and airports of the Gulf region. The 1980s in Jackson were dominated by Mayor
Dale Danks Jr. until he was unseated by lawyer and legislator
J. Kane Ditto, who criticized the deficit funding and the politicized police department of the city. Federal investigations of drug trafficking at Jackson's
Hawkins Field airport were a part of the ''Kerry Report,'' the 1986 U.S. Senate investigation of public corruption and foreign relations.
As Jackson has become the medical and legal center of the state, it has attracted
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
professionals in both fields. Since the late 20th century, it has developed the largest
Jewish community in the state.
In 1997,
Harvey Johnson, Jr. was elected as Jackson's first African-American mayor. During his term, he proposed the development of a
convention center
A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...
to attract more business to the city. In 2004, during his second term, 66 percent of the voters passed a referendum for a tax to build the Convention Center.
Mayor Johnson was replaced by
Frank Melton on July 4, 2005. Melton generated controversy through his unconventional behavior, which included acting as a law enforcement officer. A dramatic spike in crime ensued during his term, despite Melton's efforts to reduce crime. The lack of jobs contributed to climb. In 2006 a young African-American businessman, Starsky Darnell Redd, was convicted of
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
in federal court along with his mother, other associates, and Billy Tucker, the former airport security chief.
In 2007,
Hinds County sheriff Malcolm McMillin was appointed as the new police chief in Jackson, setting a historic precedent. McMillin was both the
county sheriff and city police chief until 2009, when he stepped down due to disagreements with the mayor. Mayor Frank Melton died in May 2009, and City Councilman Leslie McLemore served as acting mayor of Jackson until July 2009, when former Mayor Harvey Johnson was elected and assumed the position.
On June 26, 2011, 49-year-old
James Craig Anderson was killed in Jackson after being beaten, robbed, and run over by a group of white teenagers. The district attorney described it as a "
hate crime", and the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
investigated it as a civil rights violation.
On March 18, 2013, a severe
hail
Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...
storm hit the Jackson metro area. The hail caused major damage to roofs, vehicles, and building siding. Hail ranged in size from golfball to softball. There were more than 40,000 hailstorm claims of homeowner and automobile damage.
In 2013, Jackson was named as one of the top 10 friendliest cities in the United States by ''CN Traveler''. The capital city was tied with
Natchez as Number 7. The city was noticed for friendly people, great food, and green and pretty public places.
On July 1, 2013,
Chokwe Lumumba was sworn into office as mayor of the city. After eight months in office, Lumumba died on February 25, 2014. Lumumba was a popular yet controversial figure due to his prior membership in the
Republic of New Afrika, as well as being a co-founder of the
National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America.
Lumumba's son,
Chokwe Antar Lumumba, ran for the mayoral seat following his father's death, but lost to Councillor
Tony Yarber on April 22, 2014. In 2017, however, Chokwe Antar Lumumba ran for mayor again, and won. Following his victory, on June 26 he was interviewed by Amy Goodman on ''
Democracy Now!'', at which time he declared a commitment to make Jackson the "Most Radical City on the Planet".
For several years, the city water supply failed to meet
federal drinking water standards and was subject to many
boil water orders in 2021 and 2022. Due to deteriorating water infrastructure, some parts of the city experienced low water pressure, and in some neighborhoods residents reported untreated sewage flowing in city streets. In August 2022, Jackson
lost access to water when its largest water treatment plant failed, leaving tap water untreated.
Geography

The city of Jackson is located primarily in northeastern Hinds County. Jackson also includes around 3,000 acres (12.1 km
2) in
Rankin County comprising
Jackson-Medgar Evers International Airport and a small portion of
Madison County. The
Pearl River forms most of the eastern border of the city. A small portion of the city containing
Tougaloo College is the portion of Jackson that lies in Madison County, bounded on the west by
Interstate 220 and on the east by the
U.S. Route 51 and
Interstate 55
Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...
. In the 2010 census, only 622 of the city's residents lived in Madison County, and only 1 lived within the city limits in Rankin County. The city is bordered to the north by
Ridgeland in Madison County, to the northeast by
Ross Barnett Reservoir on the Pearl River, to the east by
Flowood and
Richland in Rankin County, to the south by
Byram in Hinds County, and to the west by
Clinton in Hinds County.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.94% of the total, are water.
Cityscape

Downtown Jackson is situated directly on the banks of the Pearl River. The downtown district has direct connections to both Interstate 55 via Pearl Street and Pasagoula Street and Interstate 20 via State Street (US 51). Much of the downtown was constructed before the 1980s and only small additions to the skyline have been made since then.
Geology
For the most part, Jackson is built on acidic, variably drained silt loam
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...
.
Loess
A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits.
A loess ...
forms the topsoil in western sections, where the Loring soil series is common. The Tippo series, also a silt loam, is found in the central flood plain. Farther east, common soil series include Guyton silt loam, Providence silt loam and Smithdale fine sandy loam.

Jackson sits atop the extinct
Jackson Volcano, located underground. It is the only capital city in the United States to have this feature. The buried peak of the volcano is located directly below the
Mississippi Coliseum.
[
] The municipality is drained on the west by tributaries of the
Big Black River and on the east by the Pearl River, which is higher than the Big Black near
Canton. The artesian groundwater flow is not as extensive in Jackson for this reason. The first large-scale well was drilled in the city in 1896, and the city water supply has relied on surface water resources.
Climate
Jackson is located in the
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
zone (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Cfa''). Rain occurs throughout the year, though the winter and spring are the wettest seasons, while September and October are usually the driest months. Snow is rare, and accumulation very seldom lasts more than a day.
Average annual precipitation is , see climate table. Much of Jackson's rainfall occurs during thunderstorms. Thunder is heard on roughly 70 days each year. Jackson lies in a region prone to
severe thunderstorms which can produce large
hail
Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...
, damaging winds, and
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
es. Among the most notable tornado events was the F5
Candlestick Park tornado on March 3, 1966, which destroyed the shopping center of the same name and surrounding businesses and residential areas, killing 19 in South Jackson.
The record low temperature is , set on January 27, 1940,
and the record high is , recorded on September 6–7, 1925, July 29, 1930, and August 30, 2000.
Demographics
Jackson remained a small town for much of the 19th century. Before the American Civil War, Jackson's population remained small, particularly in contrast to the river towns along the commerce-laden
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. Despite the city's status as the state capital, the 1850 census only counted 3,196 residents.
By 1900, the population of Jackson was still less than 8,000. Although it expanded rapidly, during this period
Meridian became Mississippi's largest city, based on trade, manufacturing, and access to transportation via railroad and highway.
In the early 20th century, Jackson had its largest rates of growth but ranked second to Meridian in Mississippi. By 1944, Jackson's population had risen to some 70,000 inhabitants, and it became the largest city in the state. For several decades, Jackson had the most thriving business districts and the largest public school system in Mississippi. It achieved its peak population in the 1980 census of more than 200,000 residents in the city. Since 1980, Jackson has declined in population due to several factors while its surrounding
suburban
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
population has increased.
Race and ethnicity
According to the 2010 census,
the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was predominantly
Black and African American, and
non-Hispanic white
Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
; in 2020, they remained the largest racial and ethnic composition for the city. This Hispanic or Latino population is the fastest growing racial and ethnic group in the city.
Income
According to census statistics in 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $30,414, and the median income for a family was $36,003. Males had a median income of $29,166 versus $23,328 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,116. About 19.6% of families and 23.5% of the population were below the
poverty
Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
line, including 33.7% of those under age 18 and 15.7% of those age 65 or over. At the publication of the 2020
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
, the city's median household income increased to $35,070; families had a median income of $44,348, married-couple families $74,893, and non-families $22,061.
Crime
High criminal activity, particularly the homicide rate, is a major reoccurring issue in the city. Crime has had a negative impact on the city's economy and population. Most parts of Jackson are considered a
food desert because important grocery stores and restaurants have closed down or left the city as theft and other crimes have worsened since 2000.
In 2020, the city's homicide rate reached its highest in history with 79.69 homicides per 100,000 residents, with a total of 128 homicides. Of major U.S. cities, only
St. Louis surpassed Jackson's homicide rate. The homicide rate in 2020 represented a significant spike after years of declining homicide rates in the early 2000s. Property crime remains much lower than in the 1990s and overall violent crime has not increased as significantly as homicide in recent years and is below the peak in 1994 as of 2020.
In 2021, a record number of homicides (160) were recorded, and at a rate of 104 per 100,000 was the highest in the United States. In late 2020, Police Chief James Davis along with the Mayor and other city leaders unveiled the virtual policing concept. After months of struggling to move the concept forward, Chief Davis began discussions with Eric B. Fox, a veteran Jackson Police Officer to return to the department. Fox returned officially in January 2022, and launched a new concept, the Real Time Command Center.
Also in 2021, the Jackson Police Department stated that the city had a serious
street gang problem which is a major contributor to violent crimes. The city has had a gang presence since the 1980s but it has seemingly grown over the years. Several gangs from
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
have settled in the city and are heavily involved in drug-selling territory wars and many other crimes.
In 2022, for the second year in a row Jackson had the highest homicide rate per capita in the United States, with the city reporting a total of 138 murders giving the city a slightly lower homicide rate of 89.8 per 100,000.
In 2023, Jackson murders dropped by 15% with 118 homicides being reported but the city still had the nation's highest homicide rate per capita with 78.8 per 100,000 residents. In 2023, Mayor Lumumba announced the opening of the Jackson Crime Center which is a facility that houses monitoring cameras strategically placed around the city to better identify criminals so they can be held accountable for their actions. The Jackson Police Department is short-staffed so the center will help the department as they work to increase recruitment and retention.
2024 saw a third consecutive decrease in murders with 111 being reported in the year, a 5.9% decrease but still the highest homicide rate in the United States with a homicide rate of 77.2 per 100,000 residents. In February 2024, Governor Reeves announced a new and tougher plan to lower rampant crime in the city and protect innocent residents.
Economy
Jackson is home to several major industries; these include electrical equipment and machinery, processed food, and primary and fabricated metal products. The surrounding area supports the agricultural development of livestock, soybeans, cotton, and poultry.
According to the city's government, Jackson's top three employers are the
University of Mississippi Medical Center,
Jackson Public Schools, and
Nissan North America as of 2020. Other notable corporations with a large presence in the city and area include
C Spire and
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
in nearby
Madison County.
The city is home to
Cooperation Jackson, which is an economic development vehicle for
worker-owned cooperative business. The organization has led to the creation of several businesses including lawn care provider The Green Team, organic farm Freedom Farms, print shop The Center for Community Production, and The Balagoon Center, which is a cooperative
business incubator.
Arts and culture

Jackson is home to a number of cultural and artistic attractions, including the following:
*
Ballet Mississippi
* Celtic Heritage Society of Mississippi
* Crossroads Film Society and its annual Film Festival
*
International Museum of Muslim Cultures
* Jackson State University Botanical Garden
*
Jackson Zoo
*
Kinetic Etchings Dance project
*
Light and Glass Studio
* Margaret Walker Center
*
Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum
*
Mississippi Arts Center
* Mississippi Chorus
*
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
*
Mississippi Department of Archives and History, which contains the state archives and records
* Mississippi Heritage Trust
* Mississippi Hispanic Association
* Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet
*
Mississippi Museum of Art
* Mississippi Opera
* Mississippi Shakespeare Festival
*
Mississippi Symphony Orchestra (MSO), formerly the Jackson Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1944
* Municipal Art Gallery
*
Museum of Mississippi History
*
Mynelle Gardens
* New Stage Theatre
*
Russell C. Davis Planetarium
* Smith-Robertson Museum and Cultural Center
* USA International Ballet Competition
Notable restaurants
*
Bully's Restaurant
Sports teams

The city of Jackson and its metropolitan area are home to professional and collegiate sports teams. The
Frontier League baseball team
Mississippi Mud Monsters plays in neighboring
Pearl, Mississippi, and the
Mississippi Brilla soccer team of
USL League Two also operates in
Clinton, Mississippi.
Government and infrastructure
Municipal government
In 1985, Jackson voters opted to replace the three-person mayor-commissioner system with a
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
and mayor. This electoral system enables a wider representation of residents on the city council. City council members are elected from each of the city's seven wards, considered single-member districts. The mayor is elected
at-large
At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...
citywide.
Various powers rest according to the City charter and the Mayor-Council Form of government outline directed by Mississippi law to the city of Jackson. The mayor can appoint heads of city municipal agencies, with approval from the city council, create new agencies if their orders are not vetoed or overturned by the city council, and can hire and fire city contractors.
Jackson's current mayor is
Chokwe Antar Lumumba of the Democratic Party, who was elected on July 3, 2017.
Jackson's City Council members are:
State government
The
Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) operates the Jackson Probation & Parole Office in Jackson. The MDOC
Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, in
unincorporated Rankin County, is located in proximity to Jackson.
Federal representation
The larger portion of Jackson is part of Mississippi's 2nd congressional district. U.S. Representative Bennie Gordon Thompson, a Democrat, has served since 1993. Until 2011 he was Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and has been the ranking member since 2011.
The
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
operates the Jackson Main Post Office and several smaller post offices.
Education
Higher education

Jackson is home to the most collegiate institutions in Mississippi.
Jackson State University is the largest collegiate institution in the city, fourth largest in the state, and the only doctoral-granting research institution based in its region.
Colleges and universities
Source:
*
Jackson State University
*
Tougaloo College
*
Millsaps College
*
Belhaven University
*
University of Mississippi Medical Center
*
Mississippi College School of Law
*
Hinds Community College
Primary and secondary schools
Public schools
Jackson Public School District (JPS) operates 60 public schools. It is one of the largest school districts in the state with about 30,000 students in thirty-eight elementary schools, thirteen middle schools, six high schools, and two special schools. Jackson Public Schools is the only urban school district in the state.
the public schools have few children who are middle or upper class, as 99% of the students in JPS qualify for free or reduced school lunches. In 2017 Susan Womack, president of the Parents for Public Schools Jackson (PPSJ) from 2000 to 2012, stated that middle to upper-class families in Jackson tended to leave public school after elementary school, with parents who remained in Jackson enrolling their children in private school, and those who wished to continue enrolling their children in public schools moving to
Madison County. The PPSJ decided circa the mid-2000s that it was not feasible to encourage middle and upper-class parents to put their children in JPS schools.
The district's high schools include:
*
Callaway High School
*
Capital City Alternative School
* Career Development Center
*
Forest Hill High School
*
Jim Hill High School
*
Lanier High School
*
Murrah High School
*
Provine High School
While most of Jackson is in Jackson PSD, there are parts in Hinds County that are instead in
Hinds County School District and in the
Clinton Public School District. The Hinds County part is zoned to
Terry High School in
Terry. The portion of Jackson in Madison County is within the
Madison County School District.
There are state-operated K-12 public schools for special purposes;
*
Mississippi School for the Blind
*
Mississippi School for the Deaf
Private schools
Private secondary schools include:
* Christ Missionary & Industrial (CM&I) College High School
*
Hillcrest Christian School
*
Jackson Academy
*
Woodland Hills Academy (closed)
Some schools are in nearby municipalities:
*
St. Andrew's Episcopal Middle and Upper School – North Campus (
Ridgeland)
*
Jackson Preparatory School (
Flowood)
*
The Veritas School (
Ridgeland), closed
*
St. Joseph Catholic School (
Madison), of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson
*
Hartfield Academy (
Flowood)
*
Madison-Ridgeland Academy (
Madison)
*
Canton Academy (
Canton)
* Tri-County Academy (
Flora
Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...
)
* Central Hinds Academy (
Raymond
Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...
)
*
Rebul Academy (
Learned)
* East Rankin Academy (
Pelahatchie)
Private primary schools include:
*
Jackson Academy
* First Presbyterian Day School
* Magnolia Speech School
*
St. Andrew's Episcopal Lower School – South Campus
* St. Richard Catholic School
* St. Therese Catholic School
Public libraries
Jackson/Hinds Library System is the library system of Jackson.
Infrastructure
On March 27, 2015, Jackson Mayor Tony Yarber issued a state of emergency for transportation (potholes) and water infrastructure (breaks in water mains).
The quality of Jackson's water infrastructure system decreased after the severe winter weather of 2014–2015. Jackson's office estimated the cost to fix the roads and water pipes at $750 million to $1 billion.
After issuing the state of emergency, the City of Jackson filed a letter of intent to Department of Health to borrow $2.5 million to repair broken water pipes. The Jackson City Council must approve the mayor's proposal.
Additionally, Mayor Yarber asked for help from both FEMA and the state Governor's office.
Calling for a state of emergency increases the likelihood that the U.S. Department of Transportation would give the city money from a "quick release" funding account.
In late August 2022, the Pearl River overflowed, flooding much of the city and contaminating the water supply. Mayor Lumumba declared a state of emergency and shut down all businesses and schools.
Transportation
In 2015, 11 percent of the city of Jackson households lacked a car, which decreased to 7.6 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Jackson averaged 1.68 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8.
Jackson has an increasing number of bicycle lanes.
Jackson–Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport, the busiest commercial airport in Mississippi, is located east of city in
Rankin County between
Flowood and
Pearl
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...
.
Jackson's
Union Station
A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
serves
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's daily overnight train, the ''
City of New Orleans'' from Chicago to New Orleans. The intermodal station also serves
Greyhound Lines intercity buses and is the primary station for Jackson's municipal buses.
The city is at the intersection of major Interstate and Federal Highways: north-south
I-55,
US 49,
US 51, east–west
I-20 and
US 80.
Major highways
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Interstate 55
Interstate 55 (I-55) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes. The ...
*
Interstate 20
*
Interstate 220
*
US 51
*
US 49
*
US 80
In popular culture
In 2011, the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
named the
USS ''Jackson'' (LCS-6) in honor of the city.
In 2002, the Subway Lounge (of the Summers Hotel on the Gold Coast) was featured as the subject of the film documentary entitled ''Last of the Mississippi Jukes.''
[
]
The popular film ''
The Help'' (2011), based on the bestselling
novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
by the same name by
Kathryn Stockett, was filmed in Jackson. The city has a two-part, self-guided tour of areas featured in the film and the book.
["'The Help' in Belhaven Neighborhood Tour"](_blank)
, Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau
In the song "
Uptown Funk" by
Mark Ronson and featuring
Bruno Mars Jackson is mentioned in the lines "Julio! Get the Stretch! Ride to Harlem, Hollywood, Jackson, Mississippi."
''
Get on Up'', a movie released in August 2014, had some scenes filmed in Jackson, and nearby Natchez. The movie is based on the life of
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
.
The movie ''
Speech & Debate'', an adaptation of the
stage play of the same name of
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...
, was filmed entirely in Jackson.
The
Charlie Daniels song "
Uneasy Rider" is set in Jackson.
Notable people
Notes
References
Further reading
*'' Jackson Rising: The Struggle for Economic Democracy and Black Self-Determination in Jackson, Mississippi'', edited by Kali Akuno and Ajamu Nangwaya. (2017) Daraja Press. .
Bibliography
External links
*
Jackson Convention & Visitors BureauMetro Jackson Chamber of Commerce
{{Authority control
Cities in Mississippi
Cities in Hinds County, Mississippi
Cities in Madison County, Mississippi
Cities in Rankin County, Mississippi
1792 establishments in the United States
County seats in Mississippi
Cities in Jackson metropolitan area, Mississippi
Mississippi Blues Trail
Planned communities in the United States
Populated places established in 1792
State capitals in the United States