Ayer Hall and the Margaret Walker Center

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

Ayer Hall was constructed in 1903 and served as the main academic building of the institution of higher education that grew to become Jackson State University. Known at that time as Jackson College, Ayer Hall was part of a campus that grew from a private religious school known as Natchez Seminary that was formed in 1877 under the umbrella of the American Baptist Home Mission Society of New York. In its first years, Natchez Seminary served to educate Mississippi's newly emancipated population. The school grew in size over the years and eventually was moved to this location in Jackson. In 1934, the school ceased being a private religious institution and became a state-run school and renamed Jackson State College. The institution was again renamed in 1974, after receiving university status, as Jackson State University. Ayer Hall currently houses JSU's College of Liberal Arts and the Margaret Walker Center, an archive and museum which was originally known as the Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People. Ayer Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

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Ayer Hall, which houses the Margaret Walker Center

Ayer Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977

Dr. Margaret Walker

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Jackson State University is a historically Black college located in Jackson, Mississippi. Ayer Hall, built in 1903, was the original academic building on the campus, then known as Jackson College. The school was originally located in Natchez, Mississippi under the name Natchez Seminary, a private religious school. The school was moved to Jackson in 1883, and to its present location on Lynch Street in 1903. In 1934, the school ceased being a private religious institution and became a state-run school, renamed Jackson State College. It was again renamed in 1974, after receiving university status, as Jackson State University.

Ayer Hall currently houses JSU's College of Liberal Arts and the Margaret Walker Center, originally known as the Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People. Founded in 1968, the archive and museum is open to the public and seeks to preserve local history; it also houses the personal and academic papers of Dr. Margaret Walker. Dr. Margaret Walker was an English professor at Jackson State; she was also an accomplished author and poet. Inspired by Langston Hughes, Walker left the South and attended Northwestern University, graduating in 1935. Her 1937 poem "For My People," received the Yale University Younger Poets Award; Walker was the first Black woman to receive the honor. Originally her doctoral dissertation, her novel Jubilee was published in 1966, and has been in print ever since.

Sources

Mississippi SP Ayer Hall, National Archives Catalogue. Accessed November 5th 2020. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/73891349.

Margaret Walker Center, Jackson State University. Accessed November 5th 2020. https://www.jsums.edu/margaretwalkercenter/.

JSU History, Jackson State University. Accessed November 5th 2020. https://www.jsums.edu/unite/jsu-history/#:~:text=The%20distinguished%20history%20of%20Jackson,educating%20Mississippi's%20newly%20freed%20slaves..

Jackson State University, HBCU Lifestyle. Accessed November 5th 2020. https://hbculifestyle.com/list-of-hbcu-schools/jackson-state-university/.

Margaret Walker, Jackson State University. Accessed November 5th 2020. https://www.jsums.edu/margaretwalkercenter/margaret-walker/.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/casestudies/study-03032017.html

http://www.jsumsnews.com/?p=7860

https://www.jsums.edu/margaretwalkercenter/margaret-walker/