Untangling the birth date of Wharlest Jackson Sr.

Top of the Morning column published in The Natchez Democrat (Friday, October 2, 2026, page 4A) 
 

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Top of the Morning

 

Untangling the birth date of Wharlest Jackson Sr.

 

By Roscoe Barnes III

 

If you’ve done any reading or research on Wharlest Jackson Sr., the civil rights leader who died when his truck was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan on February 27, 1967, you have probably noticed different dates given for his birth. If you visit Minor Street at the site where his truck exploded, you’ll see a historical marker presenting 1937 as the year he was born.
 
Unfortunately, there’s quite a bit of conflicting information about the birth year of this important figure in Natchez’s civil rights history. This discrepancy is reflected not only on the marker, but also on his headstone and various websites.
 
In this column, I examine a discrepancy in the historical record concerning Jackson's date of birth and the information currently displayed on the historical marker honoring him.
 
Here are the different dates:
 
* The historical marker on Minor Street lists his birth year as 1937.
 
* The Find a Grave page lists his birth year as 1929.
 
 * His headstone at Natchez National Cemetery lists his birth year as 1930.
 
* The Veterans Legacy Memorial page also lists 1930.
 
In September 2025, I discussed these conflicting dates by phone with Denise Jackson Ford, Jackson’s daughter. She told me that her father’s birth certificate lists his year of birth as 1929, while his death certificate lists 1930.
 
According to Ford, his actual birthday was December 7, 1929, based on the birth certificate. Ford also explained the discrepancy on the historical marker on Minor Street. She said that 1937 was the birth year of her mother, Exerlena, and that it was mistakenly placed on the marker as Wharlest’s birth year.
 
If Wharlest was born on December 7, 1929, then he was 37 years old when he was killed on February 27, 1967, and not 36, as reported in some accounts.
 
Surprisingly, a number of highly respected sources continue to report that Jackson was 36 years of age when he died. One example appears in PBS Frontline's American Reckoning project. An article accompanying the documentary describes Jackson as a "36-year-old Korean War veteran and father of five." Another example appears in the 2015 Guardian article, “Families' wounds stay open as decades-old racist killings are left unsolved.” The article states: “Wharlest Jackson Sr died at 36 when a bomb went off under his car in 1967. His family is one of dozens still fighting for justice after tragedy.”
 
The age of 37 is also supported by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In an overview of the case, the department describes Wharlest as a 37-year-old African American man who had recently been promoted to a new position at Armstrong Tire and Rubber Company. The department notes that the bombing occurred around 8 p.m. on February 27, 1967.
 
Wharlest had left the plant after working overtime on his day shift and had driven about six blocks when his pickup truck exploded. The FBI believes the bomb or other explosive device had been placed under the driver’s seat area outside the truck frame, according to the Justice Department.
 
The birth certificate information provided by Wharlest’s daughter, combined with the Justice Department’s account of the case, provides strong evidence that Wharlest Jackson Sr. was born on December 7, 1929.

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ROSCOE BARNES III, Ph.D., is the cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez.