Written by Seetha Srinivasan
Looking through Jackson: Photographs by Ken Murphy published by Lemuria Books, I was so pleased to see that Tougaloo College’s Woodworth Chapel was included in this book celebrating the city’s landmarks. So when Hannah at Lemuria Books asked if I would post an entry to blog about the book, I accepted with alacrity.
Woodworth Chapel was built in 1901 by students, and is by far the most iconic structure on the 145-year-old Tougaloo College campus. A major renovation has restored the building to all its original beauty, and it is now on the National Register of Historic Places. As it well should be.
From its earliest days the chapel has been at the center of campus life. Notably during the turbulent sixties, Tougaloo was a haven for activists, and the chapel was the epicenter for the Jackson movement. Many a meeting was held there, and such leaders as Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis spoke at the chapel. I taught English at Tougaloo from 1969 to 1977, and heard memorable speakers like Ambassador John Kenneth Galbraith and psychologist Kenneth Clark at the chapel. The chapel is often home to concerts, and after the ancient music group Boston Camerata performed there, their leader said that the group had not performed in a venue with better acoustics. Far and away my most unforgettable experience was being present for Fannie Lou Hamer’s appearance at Woodworth Chapel, as she recounted with power and passion her family’s struggles on the Eastland Plantation and then her political involvement. When she concluded by singing “Nobody Knows the Trouble I have Seen,” there was not a dry eye in the packed chapel.
When we came to Tougaloo in 1969, it was on the edge of Jackson in every sense of the word. In the early 1990’s when the college hosted a lunch for business and community leaders, the venue was filled to capacity, reflecting the changing dynamics of the city. Now with Tougaloo College’s Woodworth Chapel included in this collection of photographs paying homage to Jackson, the integration of the institution, is in a sense, complete.
Tougaloo College has a venerable place in the state’s history and culture, and it is only right that Woodworth Chapel be recognized as one of Jackson’s iconic buildings. Thank you to Ken Murphy and to John Evans for giving this stately structure its due in their beautiful book Jackson.
Jackson: photographs by Ken Murphy is available now for purchase. To order a copy, call Lemuria Books at 601.366.7619 or visit us online at lemuriabooks.com. Please join us in celebrating Jackson on August 5th at 5:00 in Banner Hall!
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