A.M.E. Logan Papers (Z/2352)
Dates: 1888 – 2002; n.d.
Biography:
A.M.E. Logan was born in Myles Station, Copiah County, Mississippi, on August 19, 1914, to John Collins Marshall (b. ca. 1873) and Nellie (Rembert) Marshall (b. ca. 1884). John Marshall, a minister within the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was such a staunch believer that he named his daughter A.M.E. after the Methodist denomination founded by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1787, in protest to their mistreatment by white Methodists. In addition to A.M.E., John and Nellie Marshall’s children included: Lela, Lenora, Viola, Jesse C., Clifton E., Nellie, Tom O., Blanche, and Monica Marshall.
In 1932, A.M.E. married Style Logan (b. August 22, 1903 – d. September, 1982). The couple initially settled in Carpenter, Copiah County, Mississippi, where they operated a grocery store. During this time, A.M.E. also worked as a beautician and seamstress. In the 1940s, the couple, along with their three children, moved to Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. In 1944, the couple built their family home at 1142 Biloxi Street. Throughout the civil rights movement, the Logan home was frequently visited by local and nationally renowned activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Reverend James Bevel, Medgar Evers and a host of others.
Style and A.M.E. Logan’s children included Style, Jr.; Vivian Ruth; Shirley; and Willis Logan. Shortly after relocating to Jackson, both Style and A.M.E. became registered voters. Style Logan gained employment with the Illinois Central Rail Station. A.M.E. Logan worked as a cashier and assistant manager at Williams Grocery Store. During this time, she also attended J.P. Campbell College. During the 1950s, she too found employment with the Illinois Central Rail Station. In the late 1950s, A.M.E. Logan resigned from her position with Illinois Railroad to become a traveling sales representative and franchise manager for A.W. Curtis, a distributor of cosmetic products. Around this same period, Style Logan, Sr., a carpenter by trade, established his own contracting business. Consequently, the couple became entrepreneurs again.
The Logan family was actively involved in Hair’s Tabernacle A.M.E. Church. A.M.E. Logan served as adult superintendent of Sunday school, in addition to carrying out other leadership roles, while her daughter, Vivian, functioned as the church’s secretary and musician. As an example of the Logans’ commitment to civic engagement, A.M.E. was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. In addition, A.M.E. Logan opened up the family’s home to members of the Freedom Riders when they visited Jackson. Moreover, when the N.A.A.C.P Jackson branch was reorganized in the late 1950s, A.M.E. was the only woman present. It was at this meeting that she was elected as the branch’s first secretary. A.M.E. Logan was instrumental in revitalizing the Jackson branch by going door-to-door to recruit her neighbors to join the N.A.A.C.P. Through her membership sales, the Jackson branch became an active chapter, thus providing Medgar Evers with a base to promote the organization’s interests. As for Style Logan, Sr., he was also a member of the N.A.A.C.P. and supported A.M.E. Logan’s activism. In 1962, Medgar Evers, along with eight other parents with children attending segregated schools in Jackson, petitioned the school board to admit fifteen black children into white public schools. A.M.E. Logan was one of the nine petitioners demanding the end to segregation in Mississippi’s public schools on behalf of her youngest child, Willis Logan. Furthermore, A.M.E. was a member of both the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (S.C.L.C.) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (S.N.C.C.). In addition, A.M.E. Logan was a founding member and executive chair of Womanpower Unlimited. Womanpower Unlimited was a collective of black women activists who assisted the civil rights movement by providing both material and emotional support to those engaged in activism.
Logan died on February 5, 2011, due to injuries sustained from a fall. Logan’s funeral was held at the Pearl Street A.M.E. Church on February 12, 2011. Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. eulogized Logan. In her honor, the City Council of Jackson, Mississippi, renamed Biloxi Street to A.M.E. Logan Drive in 2012.
Scope and Content Note:
The A.M.E. Logan Papers encompass correspondence; N.A.A.C.P. programs; church record books; publications; and miscellany. These materials provide insight into A.M.E. and Style Logan’s organizational affiliations. In addition, these records reveal both A.M.E. Logan’s involvement in the campaign to desegregate Mississippi’s public school system, and support of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Series Identification:
Series 1: Correspondence. 1963; 2002; n.d.
The first item in this series consists of a postcard dated December 1963, sent from Clarie Harvey Collins of the Women’s Peace Pilgrimage to A.M.E. Logan extending pleasantries. In addition, this series contains an undated letter from Jacob L. Reddix, State Mutual Savings and Loan Association, to A.M.E. Logan, requesting her assistance with the organization’s local depositors’ project. The final item is an empty envelope, dated March 30, 2002, sent from Thomas W. Gaither to A.M.E. Logan.
Box 1, folder 1.
Series 2: N.A.A.C.P. Programs. 1962-1979.
This series encompasses programs, correspondence, a resolution, and news clippings collected by A.M.E. Logan. These items were likely obtained by Logan due to her membership and participation in N.A.A.C.P. related events. Of note is an N.A.A.C.P. souvenir program of the tenth-anniversary meeting of the Southeast Regional Conference of the NAACP, which was held at the Masonic Temple on Lynch Street in Jackson, Mississippi, from February 22 – 25, 1962. The souvenir program lists prominent African American activists-entertainers such as: Floyd Patterson, Archie Moore, Curtis Flood, Marguerite Belafonte, Elston Howard, Dick Gregory, and Jackie Robinson among those in attendance. In addition, the program was autographed by the former professional baseball player, Curtis Flood, Moreover, S.L. Logan’s ad as a contractor is listed within the souvenir program. This series also contains a program from the N.A.A.C.P. - Jackson branch’s annual Freedom Awards Banquet held on December 18, 1975. A.M.E. Logan is identified as delivering the introduction of the featured speaker, Grand Master Henry Williams of the Modern Free and Accepted Masons of the World, Inc. Also in this series is a program from the 70th N.A.A.C.P. Annual Convention and 9th Commerce and Industry Show held in Louisville, Kentucky, from June 25-29, 1979. The final program within this series is from the 34th Annual Convention Mississippi State Conference N.A.A.C.P. held in Jackson, Mississippi, from November 8-10, 1979. This program also consists of a packet of additional items likely addressed during the conference. The contents within the conference packet include a resolution dated, November 8, 1979, denouncing the action taken by the State Board of the N.A.A.C.P. for its resolution condemning Reverends Hickman M. Johnson and Horace L. Buckley. Another item contained in this packet is the testimony of Dr. Aaron Henry before the United States Subcommittee on Human and Community Resources of the House Budget Committee on March 12, 1979. Henry’s testimony promoted the development and improvement of policies and programs designed to meet the needs of elderly blacks. Also in this packet is an article published in the Commercial Appeal on April 9, 1979, entitled, “Whiteness Remains Our Frame of Reference” by D’Army Bailey. In this article, Bailey addresses the economic contradictions that had arisen in the black community, as a class of blacks began to advocate for their individual interests over the collective needs of others. Furthermore, researchers will find within this packet, a letter from Gerald Donaldson, National Urban League, Inc., Program Developer, to Dr. Aaron Henry, thanking Henry for his assistance with the potential development of a Job Corps facility in Northeastern Mississippi. Lastly, the contents of this packet include a campaign letter from Dr. Aaron Henry announcing his candidacy for Mississippi State House District 26.
Box 1, folders 2-5.
Series 3: Publications. 1888; 1946-1976; n.d.
Arranged by subject matter, this series encompasses publications collected by A.M.E. and Style Logan concerning an array of issues pertaining to politics, professional organizations, school desegregation, and social life in the United States. The first publication within this series related to politics is entitled, Democracy in Mississippi; A Citizen’s Guide to State and Local Government. Published by the Mississippi branch of the AFL-CIO, this booklet provides basic information to Mississippi voters interested in participating in the electoral process on the local, state, and national level. Another publication contained in this series is an April 1965, issue of Ebony. Of note is an article entitled, “States Boast Record Number of Negro Lawmakers.” This series also consists of the published booklet, Handbook for Precinct Organization by the Voter Registration and Education League. This manuscript details the definition of a precinct and describes its significance, while providing interested readers with the steps for organizing a voter precinct. A July 4, 1963, copy of Jet is found among this series. Of note is Simeon Booker’s coverage of the assassination of Medgar Evers and his military burial at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party is another manuscript among this series. Published by the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party circa 1965, this manuscript outlines the history of the organization and the political conditions that resulted in the creation of the party. Voting in Mississippi; Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, 1965 is also among this series. Published by the United States Commission on Civil Rights, this report presents the commission’s findings from field investigations and hearings conducted from 1960-1964.
The publication entitled, Constitution and Bylaws of the United Slate, Tile and Composition Roofers, Damp and Waterproof Workers’ Association is the sole text among this series related to a professional organization. This booklet provides the fundamental principles governing the United Slate, Tile and Composition Roofers, Damp and Waterproof Workers’ Association.
In regards to school desegregation, researchers will find the published report entitled, “Federal Rights under School Desegregation Law,” by the Mississippi State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights of interest. Published in April 1966, this document was designed to assist Black students and their parents with understanding their rights under current Federal school desegregation law. Also within this series is, A Report to the People of Mississippi; on the White House Conference on Education. Published in December 1955, by the State Department of Education, this publication addresses the challenges confronting education such as teacher shortages, school funding, and racial segregation among other topics. Also contained in this series is, Revised Statement of Policies for School Desegregation Plans under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was published in March 1966, by the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Office of Education. This manuscript outlines the Federal government’s framework for desegregating public schools.
The publications among this series addressing aspects of social life include the Journal of the Twentieth Session of the Mississippi Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which documents the proceedings of the February 1-6, 1888, gathering held in Grenada, Grenada County, Mississippi. This series also consists of both a 1974 and 1976 edition of Outlook Magazine. Published by Meredith Publishing Company, both issues provide local reporting on economic, political, and social topics related to the Jackson-metropolitan area. Furthermore, the October 4, 1961, issue of Senior Scholastic is among this series. This publication provides senior high school students with national and international coverage of world affairs.
Box 1, folders 6-17.
Series 4: Church Record Books. 1951-1958; 1969.
This series documents Hair’s Tabernacle A.M.E. Church Sunday School worship activities from 1951-1954. Of note are the themes addressed, musical selections sung, and monies collected over the course of three years. Of interest are the officers listed and their respective roles within the church. In addition, this series contains the record book of the Women’s Missionary Society. This item documents the organization’s meeting minutes and dues contributed by members from 1955-1958 and 1969.
Box 1, folders 18-19.
Series 5: Miscellany. 1943-1976.
The miscellany series contains Style Logan’s certificate of election as a lay delegate to the Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 2, 1943, as a representative of the Mississippi delegation. Also, found among this series is a voting precinct list related to Hinds County, Mississippi. In addition, this series contains an address list for individuals, businesses and organizations throughout Mississippi. Of additional interest is an undated flyer concerning the text, The Negro in Mississippi History, second edition, by Jessie Bryant Mosley. In addition, this series contains a flyer dated 1966 for New Jerusalem Baptist Church. Moreover, this series contains a blank school exam with questions relating to civil rights, the three branches of the U.S. government, and the United States’ two party system. Other items among this series include receipts relating to Style Logan’s driver license and vehicle registration. Lastly, this series contains an obituary from the funeral of Jack Harvey Young, whose service was held at Pearl Street A.M.E. Church on September 27, 1976.
Box 1, folders 20-26.