Violence in Jackson

Violence in Jackson

Donald Thompson, minister of the First Unitarian Church of Jackson, Mississippi, was shot and gravely injured outside of his home on August 22nd, 1965. The attack followed telephone threats on his life, threats stemming from his efforts to integrate his congregation in Jackson.

Thompson moved to Jackson to establish a civil rights ministry. In addition to his congregational work, he also was one of the founders of Jackson's coffee fellowship, a weekly discussion group that brought together both white and black ministers and lay people.