Did You Know? A Baltimore Woman Changed History
Did You Know? A Baltimore Woman Helped Shape The Civil Rights Playbook
Baltimore’s civil rights legacy runs deep, and few names carry as much weight as Lillie May Carroll Jackson. Known across the city as the “Mother of Freedom,” Jackson was not just present for history. She helped shape it.
Born in Baltimore on May 25, 1889, Jackson was raised in the Sharp Street Memorial United Methodist Church, a cornerstone of Black life and activism in the city. She attended what is now Frederick Douglass High School before becoming an educator herself, teaching second grade on Biddle Street. Community and service were always at the center of her life, but it was adversity that sharpened her purpose. After surviving a life threatening illness in 1918 that left her face permanently disfigured, Jackson made a personal vow to dedicate her life to serving others.
That promise turned into action when her daughters were denied admission to Maryland colleges because they were Black. Instead of accepting injustice, Jackson organized. In 1931, she helped launch the Buy Where You Can Work campaign, a bold economic boycott that pressured white owned businesses in Baltimore to hire Black workers. The strategy worked and it energized the city’s Black community while breathing new life into the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Jackson went on to lead Baltimore’s NAACP for 35 years, growing it to 17,600 members, one of the largest chapters in the country. She helped desegregate movie theaters, pushed fair employment laws, raised money for legal challenges, and supported efforts that opened doors at the University of Maryland. Her impact earned her an honorary doctorate from Morgan State University.
Jackson passed away in 1975, but her legacy lives on. Her former home now stands as a civil rights museum, a charter school bears her name, and her influence remains woven into Baltimore’s fight for justice. In this city’s story, Lillie May Carroll Jackson is not a footnote. She is a foundation.
Did You Know? A Baltimore Woman Helped Shape The Civil Rights Playbook was originally published on 92q.com
