The Tougaloo Nine

 

The Jackson Municipal Library Sign on the Mississippi Freedom Trail

“Unlike the Freedom Riders, Friendship Nine, and Little Rock Nine, the Tougaloo Nine are not as well known historically. Sammy Bradford, one of the Tougaloo Nine, said on the occasion of the read-in anniversary: “It seems that everybody is being celebrated and praised for their fine work except the very people who launched the civil rights movement against some of the greatest odds ever faced by man or beast. I’m not saying that the Tougaloo Nine should be rolled out like world-conquering heroes in a ticker-tape parade every year, but they should at least be acknowledged, along with many others, whenever a purported celebration of civil rights activities in Mississippi takes place. 


In August 2017, a historical marker on the Mississippi Freedom Trail was dedicated to the Tougaloo Nine. During the May 2021 commencement of Tougaloo College, all nine will receive honorary doctorates.


In July 2022, the Mississippi Braves and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum commemorated the Tougaloo Nine while wearing 1960s-era Tougaloo College baseball jerseys with the name of a Tougaloo Nine member on the back along with a presentation featuring Nine members. Living members of the Tougaloo Nine threw out ceremonial first pitches. The jerseys were auctioned off for the Ella Josephine Baker scholarship at Tougaloo College.” 

 

 

From left are: Joseph Jackson, Jr., Geraldine Edwards, James Cleo Bradford, Evelyn Pierce, Albert Lassiter, Ethel Sawyer, Meredith Coleman Anding, Jr., Janice L Jackson, and Alfred Lee Cook

 

KOLUMN Magazine

March 27 
When Reading Became Civil Disobedience
The Tougaloo Nine’s 1961 sit-in at the Jackson Public Library was small in scale, radical in implication, and far larger in consequence than history has often allowed.


There is something especially revealing about a society that criminalizes reading. Not rioting. Not vandalism. Not even trespassing in the ordinary sense. Reading. That is what makes the story of the Tougaloo Nine feel so sharp, even now. On March 27, 1961, nine Black students from Tougaloo College walked into the whites-only Jackson Municipal Library in Mississippi, requested books unavailable at the city’s Black branch, sat down, and began to read. For that, they were arrested.
“The act itself was modest by design. There were no grand speeches inside the building, no dramatic confrontation initiated by the students, no chaos. The point was the contrast. On one side stood a group of neatly dressed students trained in nonviolent protest; on the other stood a Jim Crow order so brittle that nine young people with library cards and class assignments could be treated as a civic threat. That contrast is the heart of the Tougaloo Nine’s significance. Their protest condensed the logic of segregation into a single absurd image: a state so committed to white supremacy that it would mobilize police power to stop Black citizens from consulting books in a tax-supported public institution.”

Read the full story at:
 https://www.kolumnmagazine.com/2026/03/27/when-reading-became-civil-disobedience/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTFawpleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFUVEo0WmxaTkI1T2NWalhlc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvxqSGPpgCZQOxZsUOW8kJcQ7TgXG_wCmyvT8mecJpPm3NVb31TsIDldzm4r_aem_jLukPZC38OQcBK5rHdz6yQ 

“The Tougaloo Nine did not choose a library because it was a soft target. They chose it because segregation there looked exactly as foolish as it was.”

LINKS

https://www.tougaloo.edu/about-tougaloo-college/our-history

BlackPast.org

When Reading Became Civil Disobedience

https://www.theroot.com/the-history-of-black-student-protests-in-15-images-1851448186/slides/16

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2021/10/04/how-black-students-helped-end-segregation-public-libraries/5611622001/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/today-our-history-september-7-1962-tougaloo-nine-protest-hardison?trk=articles_directory

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tougaloo_Nine

https://www.wlbt.com/video/2023/05/29/tougaloo-nine-stage-read-in-jackson-municipal-library/

http://betweenthegateposts.blogspot.com/2012/05/investigating-tougaloo-nine.html

https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/civil-rights-in-the-60s-part-1-justice-for-medgar-evers

https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/civil-rights-leaders/medgar-evers

https://www.history.com/news/medgar-evers-widow-justice

May 28, 1963: Woolworth Sit-in in Jackson, Mississippi

https://www.visitjackson.com/blog/woolworths-sit-in/#:~:text=Segregation%20%7C%20Visit%20Jackson-,Woolworth%20Sit%2DIn%20was%20the%20Most%20Violent%20of%20More%20Than,brutal%20violence%20and%20national%20attention.

When Reading Became Civil Disobedience

 

 

 

©Iforcolor.org – Dale Ricardo Shields (2024)

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iforcolor

ARCHIVIST, EDUCATOR, HISTORIAN, and ARTiST
Dale Ricardo Shields is highly accomplished African American actor, director, producer, and educator with a distinguished career in theatre and academia.

Here's a summary of his background and achievements:

Early Life and Family:
Born on November 4, 1952, in Cleveland, Ohio.
His family has a strong musical background; his grandfather and father were founding members of the Shields Brothers Gospel Quartet of Ohio, and his mother was part of the Turner Gospel Singers.
He is a cousin of boxing promoter Don King.
Education:
Graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in 1970.
Holds both a BFA (1975) and MFA (1995) from Ohio University.

Career and Contributions
Theatre Professional:
Actor: Has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and in regional productions. His television credits include The Cosby Show, Another World, Guiding Light, Saturday Night Live, and the ITV series Special Needs. He has also appeared in commercials and films.
Director and Stage Manager: Has extensive professional credits in these roles, including projects at Lincoln Center, The Henry Street Settlement House (New Federal Theatre), The Negro Ensemble Company, and The Joseph Papp Public Theatre.
Assistant Director: Served as assistant to Lloyd Richards and assistant director for the New Federal Theatre premiere of Ossie Davis's play A Last Dance With Sybil starring Ruby Dee and Earl Hyman.

Educator:
Professor: He is a Professor of Acting, Directing, Black Theatre, Black Studies, and Stage Management. He has taught at various institutions, including Ohio University, The College of Wooster, Denison University, Macalester College, Susquehanna University (as artist-in-residence), and SUNY Potsdam.
Workshops and Programs: Conducted workshops for Joseph Papp's Playwriting in the Schools Program (PITS) at The Public Theatre for six seasons and represented the United States at the ASSITEJ Theatre Festival in London, England, in 1988.
Artistic Activist and Historian:

Iforcolor.org: Creator and archivist for the Black History website Iforcolor.org, dedicated to preserving and sharing information about African Americans and artists of color. He also maintains the "Black Theatre/African American Voices" website on Facebook.
Project1VOICE Liaison: Serves as the Project1VOICE Liaison for the state of Ohio, directing "One Play One Day" events in Cleveland since 2011.

Awards and Recognition:
The Kennedy Center/Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Award: Recipient in 2017.
Paul Robeson Award: Recipient in 2021 (jointly presented by the Actors' Equity Association and Actors' Equity Foundation).
AUDELCO/"VIV" Special Achievement Award: Received in 2017.
Tony Award Nominee: Nominated for the "Excellence in Theatre Education Award" in 2015 and 2017.
Ebony Bobcat Network (EBN) Legend Award: Received from Ohio University in 2022.
ENCORE AWARD / The Actors Fund: Received in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024.
Outstanding Professor Awards: Has received two of these and three "Educational Program of the Year" awards as a university professor.
The HistoryMakers archives: Interviewed and included in The HistoryMakers archives, permanently housed in the Library of Congress.
Dale Ricardo Shields is recognized for his profound impact on the lives of his students and his unwavering dedication to preserving and promoting Black theatre history and culture.