User:JaneClawsten/wanda jackson

Wanda Estella Jackson (1927-2010) nee Tyler, was a Denver civil rights activist and educator. Jackson was a nurse by training, but an educator at heart. She was a member of the Denver chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and focused her efforts on supporting Black residents in Colorado.

Biography
Wanda Estella Tyler was born on October 7, 1927 in Topeka, Kansas. She graduated from Hutchinson Kansas High School and earned a nursing degree at General Hospital No. 2 in Kansas City, Kansas.

Jackson and her husband moved to Denver after their marriage in 1950.

Activism
Jackson and five others formed a co-op and bookstore called Sundiata. This was the first bookstore to specialize in Black and African American authors, and was open from 1968 to 1976. It began as a community club and held workshops with Black authors.

Jackson and Ruth Denny were friends and members of CORE. She was part of the Denver Dry Goods boycott and other companies that discriminated against Black residents. She was voted secretary-treasurer in 1966 and was part of the CORE education committee.

Jackson worked for the Ethnic College Counseling Center, and taught English at the Ford Warren Library branch of the Denver Public Library and the Red Shield Community Center.

Personal life
While earning her nursing degree, she met Clarence Jackson, Jr. and they married on December 25, 1950. They had two children, Cherise Rahmaan and Bruce Jackson.

She suffered from chronic illness but continued supporting her community until her death.

Death and legacy
Jackson died in Denver on October 9, 2010.