Robert R. Jackson (September 1, 1870, in

Malta, Illinois Malta is a village in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,143 at the 2020 census. History Malta was founded in 1855, under the name of Milton. Shortly afterwards, the name was changed to Etna, then Malta after the Galena ...

– June 12, 1942) was a state legislator in Illinois as well as a baseball team founder, baseball league commissioner, and

Chicago alderman The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is called into session regularly, usually monthly ...

. Jackson was educated in the Chicago public school system until leaving school to care for family after the eighth grade. Prior to his tenure in the legislature, he worked as a newspaper salesman, postal service employee, elevator operator and baseball team owner. He was a Republican.

Career

Jackson's twenty-one year tenure at the Chicago Postal System included twelve years as assistant superintendent at Armour station, at the time the highest role held by a Black man in the Chicago postal system. Jackson was also a veteran of the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...

when his National Guard regiment, Illinois'

Eighth Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

was activated to Cuba. In 1910, Jackson cofounded with

Beauregard Moseley Beauregard Fitzhugh Moseley (1868 - December 1, 1919) was an African-American lawyer, mayor, community leader, baseball team co-founder and executive in Chicago. He and Robert R. Jackson founded the Leland Giants. He was born 1868 in Lincolnto ...

the

Leland Giants The Leland Giants, originally the Chicago Union Giants, were a Negro league baseball team that competed independently during the first decade of the 20th century. The team was formed via a merge of the Chicago Unions and the Chicago Columbia Gia ...

, Chicago's first African-American baseball team. He also served a two-year term as Commissioner of the

Negro American League The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues created during the time organized American baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and disbanded after its 1962 season. Negro American League franchises :''An ...

. When Jackson left the postal system to return to the print business, his Fraternal Press was believed to be the largest printing business owned by a Black person. Jackson was elected to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

in 1912; he was seated just a short time before the legislature adjourned

sine die Adjournment ''sine die'' (from Latin 'without a date') is the conclusion of a meeting by a deliberative assembly, such as a legislature or organizational board, without setting a date to reconvene. The assembly can reconvene, either in its pres ...

. Speaker William Michael McKinley appointed Jackson to roles on a number of committees including federal relations and military affairs. Jackson was re-elected in 1914 and 1916 and was a part of Illinois' first state film censorship law. He served as an alderman in

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...

for the

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

wards from 1918-1939 after his time as a state legislator was term limited.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Robert R. 1870 births 1942 deaths Chicago City Council members Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Leland Giants players 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly African-American city council members in Illinois African-American state legislators in Illinois Negro league baseball executives Baseball commissioners United States Postal Service people Illinois National Guard personnel American military personnel of the Spanish–American War

Career

See also

References