Charles Tisdale
Photo by
Alice Tisdale

For more than 35 years, editor-Publisher, Charles Wesley Tisdale stood in the middle of the crossroads of a changing Mississippi. Firing back unflinchingly in the pages of the Jackson Advocate at those who fired at him or stood in the way of his push for change, Tisdale gained a reputation nationally as being one of the chief spokesmen and activists who broke the back of overt white domination and black subordination in Jackson and other parts of Mississippi.

Friends, family and associates met last Saturday in North Jackson to dedicate the Charles W. Tisdale Public Library as a branch of the Jackson-Hinds Library System.

Some of the attendees told of how Tisdale helped them attain a new position that traditionally was closed to black people. Others told of the  fiery power of his words to force public officials to back off of race-based positions that kept black workers and voters at a disadvantage. And others told of how Tisdale took on the rising black element that replaced the white oppressors with no perceptible change following their ascent to power. 

Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes led the sometimes-tortuous fight to have the library named for Tisdale, who died Aug. 7, 2007.

“Mr. Tisdale deserves all this,” Stokes said. “This man did so much for this city, this state and this country. Like always, people could just  call the Jackson Advocate and get something done about the injustices they faced. I could start at A and go to Z about all the cases and all the things that Mr. Tisdale worked on to create justice for all. And one of these  was the  Ayers case.”

Stokes said Tisdale introduced him to Ben Jealous for the first time, long before Jealous, now the President of the national NAACP and a  former Rhodes Scholar, began his surprising rise to the pinnacle of America’s black press and civil rights organizations.

Jealous was the  guest speaker at the ceremonies dedicated to  the  man who had appointed him managing editor of the Jackson Advocate in 1996, although he had little experience in journalism at the time.

“There is nothing more appropriate than naming a library after Charles Wesley Tisdale,” said Jealous. “Charles Wesley Tisdale is of a generation of men who  understood that it was the word  that made our freedom real. And if you couldn’t write and you didn’t read, end of story.”

Jealous told of how Tisdale was motivated to fight his enemies with his pen and his gun, too, in necessary. After having his newspaper, the Jackson Advocate, burned down twice, the house next door to  him once and having the newspaper office shot up 16 times by late night  marauders, Tisdale had the habit of standing fast, armed and ready to confront his enemies. Even in his childhood in Athens, Alabama, Tisdale had seen his high school burned down four times by whites who did not want black  people educated, Jealous said. He therefore expected trouble to  arise from unknown quarters when the issues of black-white equality arose, Jealous added.

“In this job, I carry a lot of Mr. Tisdale with me,” Jealous said. “The biggest gift he  gave me was understanding what it meant to be committed to something.”

Charlotte Moman, assistant director of the Jackson Hinds Library systems, was mistress of ceremonies of the dedication. And she had a story of her own that reflected well on Charles Tisdale’s devotion to justice. She told of the struggle of black senior librarians to be promoted to the library system’s director’s job when it opened up after the resignation of the white director in 2003.

“We had three blacks who had the same degree that our director had,” Moman said near the end of the commentary. “She had accepted a new job, so that meant the position was open. We said it’s time for things to change. We’re going to put a black person up there.”

When the announcement of the job opening came out, however, a new set of qualifications confronted all three of the qualified black aspirants.

“You had to be this, you had to be that, you practically had to be a director,” said Moman. “In the past, you had to have a master’s degree, a little supervisory experience, good relationships with the public and elected officials. Why?... Well, I knew why. It was because blacks were ready to step up to the plate.”

The black librarians confronted the predominantly white board of directors. They also won Charles Tisdale over to their cause. Tisdale intervened with the  board and demanded “justice” for the library employees.

Today, thanks to that hard fought battle of seemingly only a few years ago, supported by Tisdale, Carolyn McCallum, an African American, is the executive director of the Jackson-Hinds Library System.

“It is because Mr. T. came forward and said we’re going to fight this injustice,” said Moman. “It is even more fitting that we name this library or any library in the Jackson Hinds Library System after Mr. T.”

Tisdale’s family, newspaper staff and associates from years past paid their heartfelt tributes to him. Daughter Deanna Tisdale, who is developing a career as both an opera singer and a newspaper publisher, sang a pair of spirituals in honor of her father, whom she remembered as a good singer himself. William Tisdale, the younger brother of Charles, was unable to attend, but sent a message from his home in California. Deanna read the letter.

“Charles never forgot a favor, nor the least of slights; each had its rewards” the younger brother said. “The Advocate suffered much violence and indignities since  Charles became owner and publisher, as much from blacks as well as the white establishment, who seethed from the scathing articles from him pen as well as from his verbal reproaches.”

William Tisdale offered to help Tisdale establish a newspaper in Los Angeles, but the offer was rejected with some resentment from the older brother. “People in Los Angeles don’t need me,” Charles Tisdale told William. “But the people in Mississippi do need me. And I’ll not leave as long as they do.”

At least 10 other close associates of Tisdale reflected on the extensive body of acts and works of Tisdale. These included Addie Green, former Bolton NAACP branch president; Stephanie Parker Weaver, former SCLC executive director; attorney Chokwe Lumumba; Hinds County Constable Bennie Buckner; and Hinds County Deputy Sheriff Chris Gray, a Jackson Advocate photographer.

“Tisdale wanted you to champion an idea and a cause and then be able to explain to people why that is the truth,” said Ivory Phillips, a retired JSU professor and a columnist for the  Jackson Advocate since 1978.

[EARNEST MCBRIDE'S HOMEPAGE]