Collection Title: Adams (Victoria Gray) Papers

Collection Number: M 345

Dates: ca. 1938 - 2000

Volume: 5 cu.ft.

Provenance: Donated by Mrs. Victoria Gray Adams.

Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Biographical/Historical Sketch:

Victoria Jackson Gray Adams, a native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, was one of the most important living black Mississippians who participated in the Civil Rights Movement. She began her civil rights activities by teaching voter registration classes in the 1960s. At that time, although thirty percent of Hattiesburg's citizens were African American, only fifty of them had been allowed to register to vote. Today, the state of Mississippi has more African American elected officials than any other state, partly because of the efforts of Victoria Gray Adams.

Victoria Almeter Jackson was born on November 5, 1926, in the Palmer's Crossing community, a historically black settlement which is now a part of the City of Hattiesburg. Her parents were Mack and Annie Mae Ott Jackson. She was a graduate of Depriest Consolidated School in Palmer's Crossing, and attended Wilberforce University, Tuskegee Institute, and Jackson State University. Her first marriage was to Tony West Gray, and three children were born of the union -- Georgie Roswitha Gray, Tony West Gray, Jr., and Cecil Conteen Gray. She later married Reuben Ernest Adams, Jr., and they became the parents of a son, Reuben Ernest Adams, III. Mrs. Adams died August 12, 2006, in Baltimore, Maryland. On September 9, 2006, a memorial service was held in her honor at Parkway Heights Methodist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Mrs. Adams was an active participant in Mississippi Freedom Summer in 1964. She was a National Board member of Dr. Martin Luther King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and was one of the founders of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). She ran for the United States Senate on the MFDP ticket in 1964, the first woman to run for the Senate from Mississippi. Her career included teaching in the public schools in rural Mississippi; teaching in the Royal Thai Army Languages Academy in Bangkok, Thailand; real estate and marketing in Petersburg, Virginia; and service as Campus Minister at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia.

Victoria Adams won numerous awards for her contributions to society. Among them are The Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award and The Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Award. In addition, she was one of the first three African American women invited to be seated as guests on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. The others, also Mississippians, were Fannie Lou Hamer and Annie Devine.

Scope and Content:

The Victoria Gray Adams Papers contain a broad array of materials that document the life and work of this remarkable woman. The collection is divided into four series:

• Series I Created Subject Files

• Series II Biographical and Personal Materials

• Series III Medals and Plaques

• Series IV Audio and Video Tapes

Series I consists primarily of materials relating to Mrs. Adams work in the area of civil rights, particularly the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, the National Conference for New Politics, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Southern Conference Educational Fund. Also in this series are numerous articles, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings, plus a small section of materials pertaining to "Black Power."

Series II contains items of a more personal nature, including items from Mrs. Adams' school days, certificates, correspondence, and materials from a scrapbook compiled by Mrs. Adams in the 1940s. Of particular interest are a handwritten autobiography (1945), Mrs. Adams' high school diploma, and several photographs.

Series III is comprised of various awards presented to Mrs. Adams, including the Freedom's Light Medal, Bridge Builder of the Year Award, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy Award.

Series IV consists of tapes of two events at The University of Southern Mississippi in which Mrs. Adams was involved. The first set of tapes are audio cassettes of a class taught by Mrs. Adams and her son, Dr. Cecil Gray, at The University of Southern Mississippi during the Spring 2000 semester. The course was History 478/578 (Studies in Civil Rights), and the title of the class was "Local People, Students, Women and Men in the Mississippi Movement (Mississippi History: A Close Look, A new perspective). The second set of tapes record a University Forum Lecture by Mrs. Adams on February 29, 2000, and is comprised of one compact disk and one video cassette.

This collection should be of interest to researchers of civil rights activities both in Mississippi and elsewhere in the South.

Photograph Log: Available.

Related Collections:

M191 Johnson Family Papers
M257 Jinny Glass Diary
M322 Sandra Adickes Papers
M323 Joseph & Nancy Ellin Freedom Summer Collection
M340 J.C. Fairley Civil Rights Collection
M351 Herbert Randall Freedom Summer Photographs

Box and Folder List:

Accession Number: AM06-48

Dates: September 9, 2006

Volume: 6 items

Provenance: Donated by Dr. Aubrey K. Lucas

Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Form of Material:

Two sets of programs and biographical materials from a memorial service honoring Mrs. Victoria Jackson Gray Adams. The service was held on September 9, 2006, at Parkway Heights Methodist Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Mrs. Adams died August 12, 2006, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Created by: Yvonne Arnold
Prepared and maintained by
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118 College Drive #5148   Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5148

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Revised: October 13, 2004