Herbert L. Jackson

In 1945, Jackson became the first African American to run for the Malden city council.^[4] He was elected to represent Ward 5, which was 99% white.^[2] In 1949 he was joined on the council by Overton Crawford, making Malden the first Massachusetts city to have two black city council members.^[5] In 1950, Jackson was elected council president, becoming the second African American in Massachusetts to hold this position (Springfield Commons Council president James Higgins was the first).^[6] He served as council president again in 1965, 1971, and 1975.^[7] Jackson remained on the city council until his retirement in 1975.^[7]

From 1951 to 1955, Jackson represented the 21st Middlesex district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.^[1] From 1963 to 1975, Jackson was an officer in the Middlesex Superior Court in Cambridge, Massachusetts.^[3]

In 1976, the city council chamber in the new Malden government center was named after Jackson.^[7] In 2021 the council chamber in the new Malden City Hall was named after Jackson.^[8]

Jackson was married to Doris Pope, granddaughter of James W. Pope, the second black member of the Boston Common Council.^[7][9] Her brother, Lincoln Pope Jr., was also a member of the state legislature.^[10] Jackson died on September 5, 1978, at his summer home in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. He was survived by his wife and three children.^[3]