James M. Dickson Explained

James M. Dickson, sometimes written as James M. Dixon, was a minister, farm owner, and state legislator in Mississippi.^[1] He was enslaved from birth.^[2] He represented Yazoo County in the Mississippi House of Representatives^{[3] [4]} in 1872 and 1873. He also served as a chancery clerk and on the county school board.

He was enslaved from birth in North Carolina. He became a Methodist Episcopal Church minister and was living in Mississippi prior to the American Civil War. General Adelbert Ames appointed him to the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors in 1869. He testified before a congressional committee about the Democrat Party's campaign of violence and intimidation during the 1875 election in Mississippi (Redeemers).^[5]

See also

• African-American officeholders during and following the Reconstruction era

Notes and References

1. Web site: James M. Dixon – Against All Odds.
2. Web site: Mississippi in 1875: Report of the Select Committee to Inquire Into the Mississippi Election of 1875. March 29, 1876. U.S. Government Printing Office. Google Books.
3. Web site: Miscellaneous Documents: 30th Congress, 1st Session - 48th Congress, 2d Session and Special Session. United States Congress. Senate. March 29, 1872. Google Books.
4. Web site: United States Congressional Serial Set. March 29, 1875. U.S. Government Printing Office. Google Books.
5. Freedom's Lawmakers by Eric Foner Louisiana State University Press 1996 page 63