James E. Jackson

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James E. Jackson, Jr. (1914-2007) was the first Black editor of The Worker, predecessor of People’s World, serving in that capacity during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Along with his wife, Esther Cooper Jackson, James Jackson was a prominent figure in the movements for civil rights, democracy, and socialism from the 1930s onward, best known for his role in founding the Southern Negro Youth Congress and as a leader in the Communist Party USA. In 1951, he was indicted under the Smith Act and forced underground for a number of years and then imprisoned. His conviction, along with those of other Communist leaders, was later overturned.

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