Black History Month: Brenda Monroe-Moses
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JACKSON, Tenn.-February is Black History Month. Each week WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News will salute a West Tennessean who has made a difference for African Americans. But it is what Jackson native Brenda Monroe-Moses did in the 60s that helped change the way local children are educated. She was one of the first black students to desegregate what was then known as Jackson Central High. In 1962, then 15-year old Monroe-Moses became a plaintiff in the class action desegregation lawsuit to accelerate integration in Jackson and Madison County schools. This was after she was denied admission into all-white Jackson Central High School. The lawsuit is one of several cases in Brown vs. Board of Education that ended segregation in public schools, allowing Jackson Central High to combine with all-black Merry High, forming Jackson Central-Merry. “I would become the human bridge to bring the segregated schools together,” Monroe-Moses said. “I was the first class that had anything but Caucasians in it,” Monroe-Moses said. “Two years later, Madeline Walker helped desegregate Tigrett.” Monroe-Moses said facing opposition was not easy, but wanted a better life for herself, her family, and people of color. As a child, Monroe-Moses had dreams of one day becoming an international ambassador. Although those dreams were never fulfilled, she said a different path was in store. “She didn’t cave in and that kind of muscle building helped,” said Roland Porter, Monroe-Moses’ pastor. From a segregated school student to serving on the city council, Monroe-Moses said progress has been made. But, she said, there is still a lot more to do.
