Allen C. Thompson

Allen Cavett Thompson (November 6 1906 - 1980) was the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi for 20 years.

Family and childhood

Thompson was born to Allen and Mattie Thompson. His father was an attorney, city prosecutor and city judge prior to his death in 1916. Allen, his brother and mother all had to work to help support the family.

Since owning cattle was prohibited inside the city limits, Mattie moved her family to the country where she could keep a milk cow and chickens to help feed the family. The house she owned, less the farm animals, still stands today and is no longer “in the country” but is located on Fairview Street in Belhaven. His mother worked as head dietician for a college while Allen and his brother performed odd jobs to help out.

When Allen was a teenager he was hired by a local doctor to drive him to Colorado each summer. The doctor would avoid the oppressive Mississippi heat by spending the summers in Colorado Springs. The trips were long and difficult considering there were no major interstate highways at the time and most of the drive was on two-lane dirt roads. Since the Doctor only paid Allen to drive him there and back it was up to Allen to support himself while in Colorado. Allen was a natural athlete and before long was the tennis and golf teacher at the Broadmore Hotel in Colorado Springs.

Post-secondary education

Upon graduating from Central High School, Allen enrolled at the University Of Mississippi. During his time at "Ole Miss" he remained very active in sports and was the state tennis champion for three consecutive years. His education never suffered and he became an assistant to the Greek Language Professor during his senior year. It was during this time he met the girl who would become his wife, Evana Shelby.

Career

Teaching

Allen and Evana were married on August 22, 1929 in Port Gibson, Mississippi. Allen was offered and accepted a teaching position at Blue Mountain College in North Mississippi where the couple lived for several years.

Law

In 1931 Allen obtained his license to practice law and returned to Jackson. During the next few years Allen and Evana had three children, Allen Jr., Shelby and Billy.

Politics

Thompson began his career in politics when he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1940. He served until he resigned to join the U.S. Navy in 1942. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander and was assigned to Naval Intelligence. He was honorably discharged on January 14, 1946 at which time he returned to Jackson and resumed his law practice.

Soon after his return he was appointed by Governor Bailey to be legislative liaison to the Governor. During this time he became President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce, President of the Exchange Club, State Excise Tax Commissioner, and served on the board of Stewards at Galloway Methodist Church.

Mayor of Jackson

In 1948 he was elected (Democrat)mayor of the city of Jackson. At the time he took office, the city was on the edge of bankruptcy, owing nearly $300,000 to local banks while having only $11,000 cash in the city coffers to pay these debts. Considering the average earnings of a citizen of Jackson was only $25.00 a week, this appeared to be a hurdle the Mayor could not jump but he quickly passed a sales tax to stabilize the city's finances.

The city's infrastructure was also not up to Mayor Thompson's standards so he introduced the “Slum Clearance Program” which required landlords to improve health and safety standards of all rental properties. This met with great resistance since the landlords had to spend money to upgrade the living conditions of rental houses. Over the next few years more than 3,200 substandard homes were rehabilitated and nearly 1,000 others were demolished.

For Allen Thompson, being Mayor was a true labor of love. Mayor Thompson and his wife would ride around the City after supper each night surveying the city. Mrs. Thompson would take notes as the Mayor drove around looking for everything that needed fixing or improving the next day. Not only did he love the city but he also appreciated the city employees who served with him.

The "Clarion Ledger" quoted David McGowen, a life-long city employee, as saying “Right before Christmas, he [Thompson] would have me go to the bank and get several hundred dollars of money from [the mayor's] own account to give as presents” to city employees as bonuses.

Jackson had never before or since experienced such rapid growth and financial success as it did under Thompson's leadership. The area's population grew from 55,000 to 250,000. The number of public schools went from just 18 to 58, the number of fire stations increased from 6 to 17, and 350 people were added to the police force. The city had but one library in 1949 but the mayor built a new modern facility and added five branches so people could have more access. He was instrumental in the construction of the Memorial Stadium, the Mississippi Coliseum, the Ross Barnett Reservoir, the Municipal Auditorium, the location of the University Medical center, Interstate I-55 and the development of the Jackson Airport.

During his time as mayor, he was elected twice as President of the 1,000 member American Municipal Association. He was the United States Southern Representative to the International Union of Cities, which was held in Brighton, England where 350 cities and 30 nations were represented. He was involved with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, his cabinet, and heads of select Federal and State Agencies in developing a national atomic civil defense program.

Civil rights

During the 1960s the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum and the south became the fields where the future of civil rights would grow. Jackson was the home of famous civil rights leader Medger Evers who was one of the leaders in the Civil Movement. Working with civil rights movement leader Medgar Evers, Mayor Thompson appointed the first black police officer, Joe Land (Clarion Ledger June 21, 1963). Land who was the first black ever appointed to police department in the City of Jackson would be just one of several minority officers appointed by Mayor Thompson.Mayor Thompson would be the one who ordered the takeover of the cafe at the Municipal Airport because the owner refused to serve blacks. An article published in the June 12, 1962 edition of the Jackson Daily News reported Thompson as saying " If he had been an employee we would have fired him....since he under contract we will handle it this way."

Mayor Allen Thompson was also known for the famous "Thompson Tank" in which a $15,000 armoured car was purchased during the height of the civil rights movement in 1964. The vehicle was an intimidation ploy against civil rights supporters of desegregation and voting rights. "Newsweek Magazine" published an article describing how the city of Jackson mobilized a police force known as "Allen's Army". The city stengthened its police force and was supplied with gas masks, helmets and shotguns. The civil rights movement and the Freedom Riders were publicly referred to as "practices of racial agitation." The vehicle is still owned and operated by the City of Jackson as a police SWAT vehicle.

In 1963, after the city exhausted adequate jail space, buildings on the state fairgrounds were transformed into compounds where protesters who were arrested were housed. One of the Mayor's actions included closing all city swimming pools after the District's Court granted a judgement entitling blacks use of the pools.

Retirement

After 20 years as mayor of the city of Jackson, Allen Thompson announced his retirement in 1969. After retiring, he practiced law and farmed until his death in 1980.