Margaret Walker Center

TEMPORARILY CLOSED. You may also reach staff at the COFO Civil Rights Education Center.

An outstanding Twentieth Century African-American, the late Dr. Margaret Walker Alexander had a 50-year career as a published writer. Dr. Alexander received the National Education Association Senior Fellowship Award for Lifetime Achievement and Contributions to American Literature in 1991. Two of her many books received national acclaim: the best-seller Jubilee and For My People. The City of Jackson renamed the street on which Dr. Alexander lived in her honor, as well as a Jackson Public Library. She served 30 years at JSU, establishing and serving as the director of the Institute for the Study of History, Life and Culture of Black People. Upon her retirement, the center was renamed the Margaret Walker Alexander National Research Center. The center addresses life in the Civil Rights Movement era. Other topics include African-American migration, the Head Start Programs, education, health care, business, rural life, home ownership, churches, night life, the legal profession, military life, and music - blues, jazz, gospel, spiritual and classical. The center is housed in the historic Ayer Hall, built in 1903.