Today’s trivia refers to long-time West Jackson resident A.M.E. Logan. Mrs. Logan was born in 1911 as the eighth child of Reverend John Collins (“J.C.”) Marshall and Nellie Rembert Marshall in Myles, Mississippi.  Reverend Marshall named his daughter in honor of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, hence the name “A.M.E.” A.M.E.  eventually met and married Style “S.L.” Logan, and the two built a home on Biloxi Street in 1944 in Jackson, Mississippi.

Mrs. Logan immersed herself into the advocation of civil rights for African Americans. She served various capacities in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was a founding member of Womanpower Unlimited, and was a founding member and officer of the Jackson Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).  Womanpower Unlimited was founded by Mrs. Claire Collins Harvey, manager of Collins Funeral Home, in the spring of 1961.  Harvey’s goal was to provide support for the Freedom Riders, a group that sought to enforce the federal requirement of a desegregated transit system. Mrs. Harvey reached out to Mrs. Logan to participate in Womanpower and Mrs. Logan was eventually elected the group’s first executive secretary.  Womanpower Unlimited grew into an interracial force of 300 women who provided supplies and accommodations for the valiant Freedom Riders.

A letter/petition has recently been circulated in West Jackson that encourages neighbors to support the renaming of Biloxi Street to honor Mrs. Logan.  James Tucker and Sylester Watts, the authors of the petition, are proposing to rename the street “Mrs. A.M.E. Logan Street.”  Tucker and Watts are attempting to honor Mrs. Logan through this effort.  While Mrs. A.M.E. Logan’s age is unclear (accounts range from 93 – 99 years old), family and friends treated her to a much deserved birthday celebration yesterday.  Happy Birthday Mrs. Logan!

Thanks again for participating in this week’s trivia!

Click the picture below to view a recent WAPT video on Mrs. Logan. There’s a short 15 second commercial before the video starts: