T. J. Jemison
T. J. Jemison | |
|---|---|
Jemison in 1983 | |
| Born | August 1, 1918 Selma, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | November 15, 2013 (aged 95) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Resting place | Green Oaks Memorial Park in Baton Rouge |
| Alma mater | Alabama State University Virginia Union University New York University |
| Occupation(s) | Clergyman, civil rights activist |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Widower since 2010 |
| Children | Diane Jemison Pollard Bettye Wagner Ted Jemison |
Theodore Judson Jemison (August 1, 1918 – November 15, 2013), better known as T. J. Jemison, was minister of Mount Zion First Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in June 1953 when he led a bus boycott to protest the city's segregated public transit. It was the first boycott of its kind in the modern civil rights movement. He quickly organized a free-ride system to offer car transportation to the city's black residents while the boycott was in effect. This system was studied by Martin Luther King Jr. and served as a model two years later during the Montgomery bus boycott.
In 1957, Jemison was one of the founding members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. From 1982 to 1994, he served as president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, which was the nation's largest African-American religious organization.