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Biography/History:
Julius Eric Thompson was born on July 15, 1946, in Vicksburg, Warren County, Mississippi. He was one of six children born to Josephine Thompson. In his early years, Thompson spent some time in Detroit, Michigan, with his maternal uncle, Ernest Thompson, and was educated in the public elementary schools of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Detroit, Michigan. He completed his secondary education at the Sadie V. Thompson High School in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, earning a diploma in May 1965.
Thompson entered Alcorn State University, Alcorn, Claiborne County, Mississippi, in 1965 and graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in history in 1969. While at Alcorn, he edited the student newspaper, the Alcorn Herald. This experience allowed him to witness the changes taking place in Mississippi during the 1960s and write about them in the Herald. Thompson left Alcorn in 1969 for graduate studies at Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey. He received a master of arts degree in American history in 1971 and a doctorate in American history in 1973.
From 1973 to 1979, Thompson taught at Jackson State University in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. Throughout the 1980s, he taught at colleges and universities in Florida and New York. In 1989, he was appointed as an assistant professor of black studies at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois. Thompson remained at Southern Illinois University from 1989 to 1996. In 1996, he left Southern Illinois University to become director of the black studies program at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri. In 2004, he was promoted to professor of history and black studies.
Thompson emerged as a significant writer in the field of African-American history. Some of his publications include Hiram Revels, 1827-1901: A Biography (1982); The Black Press in Mississippi, 1865-1985 (1993); Percy Greene and the Jackson Advocate: The Life and Times of a Radical Conservative Black Newspaperman, 1897-1977 (1994); Dudley Randall, Broadside Press, and the Black Arts Movement in Detroit, 1960-1995 (1999); and Black Life in Mississippi: Essays on Political, Social and Cultural Studies in a Deep South State ( 2001).In addition to historical writing, Thompson was an author of poetry, a craft he developed while a student at Alcorn State University. His poetry explores the black experience from the time of slavery through the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Two of his important works of poetry are Blues Said Walk On: Poems (1977) and Hopes Tied Up in Promises (1970). In 1973, he formed a close association with Jerry Ward, professor of English at Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, Madison County, Mississippi. Ward assisted Thompson in developing themes for his poetic works and introduced him to the black literary world. Julius Eric Thompson died on October 26, 2007, in Columbia, Missouri.
Scope and Content:
This collection consists of writings, reviews, and presentations; black studies materials; correspondence; and biographical and personal materials of Julius Thompson. The collection spans the years 1974 through 2002.
The collection is divided into four series. Series one contains copies of some of Thompson’s writings, his reviews of other writers’ works, and reviews of his works by others. Series two contains materials relevant to the black studies program at the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri and other national programs. Series three contains correspondence, particularly communication between Thompson and Jerry Ward. Series four contains curricula vitae, biographical information, news articles, and documents related to Thompson’s professional career.
Series Identification:
The series includes copies of essays, poems, presentations, a play, and a copy of a draft of Thompson’s major work, The Black Press in Mississippi, 1865-1985. Reviews of some of his works and reviews of works of other writers are also included.
Folders 1-4 contain printed and photocopied versions of Thompson’s published works. Included are copies of a draft of The Black Press in Mississippi, 1865-1985; an autographed copy of Blues Said Walk On: Poems; and The Anthology of Black Mississippi Poets.Box 1 Folders 1-11 contain copies of Thompson’s essays and presentations, including his written tributes to Dudley Randall, founder of the Broadside Press, Detroit, Michigan. Folders 12-18 contain copies of Thompson’s unpublished poetry and the script to his one-act play, Rambling Row, A Blues Memory. Folder 19 contains literary reviews written by Thompson, reviews of his works done by other authors, and a general review of a related work. Box 2