LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring the life of the Reverend Charles Jack-
son, distinguished citizen of the Village of Clyde, devoted civil rights
advocate and man of supreme faith

WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to pay tribute to
citizens of the State of New York whose life work and civic endeavor
served to enhance the quality of life in their communities and the great
state of New York; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Charles Jackson was born on October 21, 1936, in
Quincy, Florida; he was raised by his mother and grandparents on a
tobacco farm where he started working when he was five years old for $1
a day; he left school after seventh grade to help support his family;
and
WHEREAS, Growing up in the South, he lived with the sting of segre-
gation and the onerous oppression of Jim Crow laws; hoping to improve
his life, the Reverend Charles Jackson traveled several times as a young
teenager from Florida to Savannah, to Wayne County, New York, to load
onions and potatoes for Gus Dhondt's farming enterprise; and
WHEREAS, On June 25, 1955, the Reverend Charles Jackson married Dorine
Lockwood in Bambridge, Georgia, when he was 18 and she was 17; he first
brought Dorine to Savannah in 1957; in 1959, the Jacksons stopped their
cycle of migration, living that winter with their two young children in
a Savannah labor camp they insulated with cardboard; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Charles Jackson worked for several agricultural
employers before attending basic education classes in Savannah; he got a
part-time job with the Wayne Community Action Program (CAP), where he
visited underprivileged people and helped them improve their lives; he
graduated with honors from a cooking course and eventually went to work
at the Newark Developmental Center in direct care; and
WHEREAS, In the 1960s, the Reverend Charles Jackson became acquainted
with the Reverend Ivory Simmons and Travis Spencer, both active in the
civil rights movement in Wayne County and the local chapter of the
NAACP; Deacon Nathan McCray and his wife, Mary, also became close
friends of the Jackson family, with the Reverend Charles Jackson credit-
ing the Deacon for helping him become a man of strong faith; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Charles Jackson became an ordained minister in
1981 through the Wayne County American Baptist Association, serving as
an Associate Pastor in Red Creek, New York and at the Mt. Zion Mission-
ary Baptist Church in Lyons, New York; and
WHEREAS, The Jackson family purchased a home on Genesee Street in
Clyde in 1968, becoming one of the first black families to own property
in the Village; they raised a family that would eventually number six
children, 21 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, In later years, the Reverend Charles Jackson, while continu-
ing his work in the community and his church, cared for his wife,
Dorine, who suffered a stroke and eventually passed away in 2002, after
being ill for 13 years; that same year, the Reverend Charles Jackson
suffered a stroke himself; he credited his tireless faith and trust in
God for making a nearly complete recovery; and
WHEREAS, In 1979, the Reverend Charles Jackson began writing his auto-
biography, finishing and publishing MORE THAN ONE JOURNEY in 2002; he
reprinted it in 2010 with an addendum, SECOND CHANCE; the book leaves a
lasting legacy for his family and all who seek to understand this
extraordinary man and the life he lived; and
WHEREAS, The Reverend Charles Jackson distinguished himself in Wayne
County and by his sincere dedication and substantial contribution to the
fight against injustice; and

WHEREAS, The Reverend Charles Jackson died on May 2, 2014, at the age
of 77; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor the life of the Reverend Charles Jackson, distinguished citizen,
devoted clergyman and dedicated civil rights advocate; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the family of the Reverend Charles Jackson.