QUEEN HALEY JACKSON
Southwest Tennessee is rich in history and is built on a foundation of impactful and meaningful individuals and stories that have been passed down from generation to generation. Beginning in February, the Southwest Tennessee Tourism Association will publish Legends of Southwest Tennessee, an effort to spotlight an individual or individuals that in some way has been an impactful part of Southwest Tennessee history and culture. We consulted with leaders in Chester, Decatur, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, McNairy and Madison counties to determine individuals we would spotlight. We begin our journey through the past by getting to know Queen Jackson Haley.
Queen was the grandmother of author Alex Haley. Many may remember Alex Haley as the author of the Pulitzer winning novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. In addition to his many other works, he also wrote Alex Haley's Queen: The Story of an American Family, in honor of his grandmother. The story was made into a television mini-series in 1993. Queen was born into slavery at the Forks of the Cypress plantation near Florence, Alabama. She was the daughter of the plantation's owner, James Jackson Jr., and an enslaved woman named Easter.
While her biological father reportedly favored her and refused to sell her during hard times, he never publicly acknowledged her as his daughter due to social pressures. According to history, Queen was cast out by her white family members, who also did not acknowledge her. After the Civil War, Queen made her way north to Savannah, Tennessee in Hardin County, working at the Cherry (Mansion) Plantation as a domestic servant. She married Alec Haley, a ferry operator for the Cherry family, on October 9, 1881.
They had one son together, Simon Haley, who became a professor of agriculture and the father of Alex Haley. During her life, Queen faced significant adversity, including racism, and poverty. Throughout her life, Queen endured severe trauma, including sexual assault and physical abuse. She was also forced to witness the lynching of Davis, the father of her first child. Later in life she struggled with mental illness. Queen found support and stability primarily through her marriage and her relationship with her children, which helped her heal from a lifetime of trauma. Queen was fiercely supportive of her children's advancement. Despite her husband’s insistence that their son Simon Haley work the farm, Queen pushed him to continue his education, secretly giving him money to attend college to ensure he could pursue his studies. In her final years, Queen moved to Huntsville, Alabama, to live with Simon, who by that time had become a professor at Alabama A&M. Her insistence in pursuing an education not only impacted her children, it impacted future generations as well, Alex being a prime example. Queen died in June 1941 and is buried in the Savannah Cemetery in Hardin County.
In honor of being a Legend of Southwest Tennessee and it being Black History Month, we honor Queen Jackson Haley. “In honor of Black History Month, we recognize and celebrate Queen Jackson Haley, a true legend of Southwest Tennessee.”
To learn more about Queen Haley and Hardin County, visit https://explorepickwicktn.com/.