Giles Beecher Jackson (ca. 1852-1924) (ca. 1852-1924)

The first African American to practice law before the Supreme Court of Virginia, Jackson lived and worked in Jackson Ward. Although local tradition holds that Jackson Ward was named for him, in fact, the ward's name first appeared during his childhood. In 1903 Jackson secured a charter from the Commonwealth of Virginia for the Negro Development and Exposition Company to facilitate the Negro Exhibit at the Jamestown Ter-Centennial Exposition in 1907. He helped organize the Southern Negro Business League as well as the Richmond Negro Exposition of 1915. Jackson also co-authored The Industrial History of the Negro Race in Virginia.