Proceeds from book sales go to the Jackson Davis Foundation.

BIRDEL JACKSON, ENGINEER, AUTHOR

Author Birdel Jackson is a 4th generation entrepreneur who, along with his wife Edith served as principals of their engineering firm spanning 3 decades.

Birdel was born on Beale Street in segregated Memphis Tennessee and raised for the first 14 years of his life with his younger sister, parents, and grandparents.

The family was the beneficiary of their merchant-planter great grandparents Ella and Edward Jackson who built the family’s home in 1923.

This nurturing environment was the solid foundation of ideas, habits, friendships, religious training, and motivation for the family’s success.

Mother Leslieann was the constant motivator of her two children. Born in Virginia, raised in New Jersey, she often confronted the legal segregation of Memphis and its southern customs.

Father Birdel Jr. battled segregation and racism in the US Coast Guard. Patriarch grandparents Gladys and Birdel Sr. were educated at Black colleges during the second decade of the 20th century.

Their stories are chronicled in the three books outlined in the following narratives.

Birdel

Our Journey Across the Centuries, A Triumph over Slavery

Suggested Retail Price $25.00.

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The Jackson family history spans the 19th and 20th centuries and includes family from the states of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, New Jersey, and Arkansas. Family origins predate the American Civil War and conclude in the mid-20th century. The journey includes the journeys of the Reed, Bond, Davis, Williams, and Jackson families. Their records were found in census ledgers, family anecdotes and recorded oral histories and biographies. A common theme of their stories is perseverance and the quest for knowledge. The book was written for the writer’s grandchildren Ava and Davis Dragon whom my daughter Yvonne, named for his second great grandfather Horace Simpson Davis and those family members who will follow and continue the journey.

Our Journey Across the Centuries

My Coast Guard Journey, A Sailor’s Story

Suggested Retail price $14.99.

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This book is dedicated to author’s father, the late Birdel F. Jackson, Jr, who along with his fellow Black Coast Guardsmen during World War II were pioneers in the integration of the US Coast Guard as sailors under the war-time direction of the US Navy. These men were trained to operate naval vessels and not for the steward service. The document issued by the US Department of the Navy, referenced in the following pages, directed the Coast Guard to train and place these men on the small ships of their fleet. The Black sailors deserve recognition and celebration for their pioneering efforts in their service to our country, although much belated and unrecognized.

My Coast Guard Journey

Growing up Donnie & Kaki

Suggested Retail Price $35.12

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Author Birdel Jackson tells the story of his first 18 years growing up in segregated Memphis Tennessee of the 1940s and 50s with his younger sister Carol Ann. The siblings were known to family and friends as Donnie and Kaki. The siblings were raised in a household with their paternal grandparents Gladys and Birdel Senior and parents Leslieann and Birdel Junior. This nurturing environment was the foundation of their ideas, habits, friendships, religious training, and motivation for success experienced by the siblings. Mother Leslieann was the constant motivator of her two children. She was raised in New Jersey and often confronted the legal segregation of Memphis and its southern customs. The household provided a constant learning environment and motivation for higher education. Father Birdel Junior and Mother Leslieann left their mortgage free home in Memphis to begin a new life in New Jersey. This autobiography describes the journey of the siblings toward becoming successful professionals.

Growing up Donnie & Kaki