Allen C. Thompson
Encyclopedia
Allen Cavett Thompson was the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi
for 20 years.
, city prosecutor and city judge prior to his death in 1916.
. During his time at "Ole Miss" he remained very active in sports and was the state tennis champion for three consecutive years.
. He was offered and accepted a teaching position at Blue Mountain College
in North Mississippi.
in 1940. He served until he resigned to join the U.S. Navy in 1942. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander and was assigned to Naval Intelligence. He was honorably discharged on January 14, 1946 at which time he returned to Jackson and resumed his law practice.
Soon after his return he was appointed by Governor Bailey to be legislative liaison to the Governor. During this time he became President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, President of the Exchange Club, State Excise Tax Commissioner, and served on the board of Stewards at Galloway Methodist Church.
In 1948 Thompson was elected (Democrat)mayor of the city of Jackson.
During Thompson's time as mayor, the area's population grew from 55,000 to 250,000. The number of public schools went from 18 to 58, the number of fire stations increased from 6 to 17, and 350 people were added to the police force. The city had one library in 1949 but the mayor built a new, more modern facility and added five branches. He was instrumental in the construction of the Memorial Stadium, the Mississippi Coliseum, the Ross Barnett Reservoir, the Municipal Auditorium, the location of the University Medical center, Interstate I-55 and the development of the Jackson Airport.
During his tenure as mayor, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, "[t]he City of Jackson and the State of Mississippi ... maintained a steel-hard, inflexible, undeviating official policy of segregation.” As mayor, Thompson was instrumental in seeking to uphold the city's and state's policies of racial segregation during the 1950s and 1960s. As one Jackson resident later recalled, "during the height of the Civil Rights Movement you had a lot of protests in the city of Jackson. Allen C. Thompson was the mayor of Jackson at the time. He was known for the famous Thompson Tank. He used that to arrest the marchers at the time. And also he used the police force and the fire department to spray the marchers at the time." Also during the 1960s Thompson appointed the first black city employees, which included the first black police officers. Thompson was also named a defendant in the Supreme Court case Palmer v. Thompson, which unsuccessfully sought to force the city to desegregate its swimming pools. Mr. Justice Black
delivered the opinion of the Court which said "It has not been so many years since it was first deemed proper and lawful for cities to tax their citizens to build and operate swimming pools for the public. Probably few persons, prior to this case, would have imagined that cities could be forced by five lifetime judges to construct or refurbish swimming pools which they choose not to operate for any reason, sound or unsound. Should citizens of Jackson or any other city be able to establish in court that public, tax-supported swimming pools are being denied to one group because of color and supplied to another, they will be entitled to relief. But that is not the case here."
During his time as mayor, he was elected twice as President of the American Municipal Association. He was the United States Southern Representative to the International Union of Cities, which was held in Brighton, England
where 350 cities and 30 nations were represented. He was involved with President Dwight D. Eisenhower
, his cabinet, and heads of select Federal and State Agencies in developing a national atomic civil defense program. Thompson was also a member of the white supremacist Citizens' Council.
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
for 20 years.
Family and childhood
Thompson was born to Allen and Mattie Thompson. His father was an attorneyLawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, city prosecutor and city judge prior to his death in 1916.
Post-secondary education
Upon graduating from Central High School, Allen enrolled at the University Of MississippiUniversity of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
. During his time at "Ole Miss" he remained very active in sports and was the state tennis champion for three consecutive years.
Teaching
Thompson married Evana Shelby on August 22, 1929 in Port Gibson, MississippiPort Gibson, Mississippi
Port Gibson is a city in Claiborne County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,840 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Claiborne County.- History :...
. He was offered and accepted a teaching position at Blue Mountain College
Blue Mountain College
Blue Mountain College is a private liberal arts college, supported by the Mississippi Baptist Convention, located in the northeastern Mississippi town of Blue Mountain not far from Tupelo, Miss. In 2005, the College's Board of Trustees voted unanimously for the college to go fully...
in North Mississippi.
Law
In 1931 Allen obtained his license to practice law and returned to Jackson. During the next few years Allen and Evana had three children, Allen Jr., Shelby and Billy.Politics
Thompson began his career in politics when he was elected to the Mississippi House of RepresentativesMississippi House of Representatives
The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi....
in 1940. He served until he resigned to join the U.S. Navy in 1942. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander and was assigned to Naval Intelligence. He was honorably discharged on January 14, 1946 at which time he returned to Jackson and resumed his law practice.
Soon after his return he was appointed by Governor Bailey to be legislative liaison to the Governor. During this time he became President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, President of the Exchange Club, State Excise Tax Commissioner, and served on the board of Stewards at Galloway Methodist Church.
In 1948 Thompson was elected (Democrat)mayor of the city of Jackson.
During Thompson's time as mayor, the area's population grew from 55,000 to 250,000. The number of public schools went from 18 to 58, the number of fire stations increased from 6 to 17, and 350 people were added to the police force. The city had one library in 1949 but the mayor built a new, more modern facility and added five branches. He was instrumental in the construction of the Memorial Stadium, the Mississippi Coliseum, the Ross Barnett Reservoir, the Municipal Auditorium, the location of the University Medical center, Interstate I-55 and the development of the Jackson Airport.
During his tenure as mayor, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, "[t]he City of Jackson and the State of Mississippi ... maintained a steel-hard, inflexible, undeviating official policy of segregation.” As mayor, Thompson was instrumental in seeking to uphold the city's and state's policies of racial segregation during the 1950s and 1960s. As one Jackson resident later recalled, "during the height of the Civil Rights Movement you had a lot of protests in the city of Jackson. Allen C. Thompson was the mayor of Jackson at the time. He was known for the famous Thompson Tank. He used that to arrest the marchers at the time. And also he used the police force and the fire department to spray the marchers at the time." Also during the 1960s Thompson appointed the first black city employees, which included the first black police officers. Thompson was also named a defendant in the Supreme Court case Palmer v. Thompson, which unsuccessfully sought to force the city to desegregate its swimming pools. Mr. Justice Black
Hugo Black
Hugo Lafayette Black was an American politician and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party, Black represented Alabama in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1937, and served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1937 to 1971. Black was nominated to the Supreme...
delivered the opinion of the Court which said "It has not been so many years since it was first deemed proper and lawful for cities to tax their citizens to build and operate swimming pools for the public. Probably few persons, prior to this case, would have imagined that cities could be forced by five lifetime judges to construct or refurbish swimming pools which they choose not to operate for any reason, sound or unsound. Should citizens of Jackson or any other city be able to establish in court that public, tax-supported swimming pools are being denied to one group because of color and supplied to another, they will be entitled to relief. But that is not the case here."
During his time as mayor, he was elected twice as President of the American Municipal Association. He was the United States Southern Representative to the International Union of Cities, which was held in Brighton, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where 350 cities and 30 nations were represented. He was involved with President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, his cabinet, and heads of select Federal and State Agencies in developing a national atomic civil defense program. Thompson was also a member of the white supremacist Citizens' Council.