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An Atlanta Legacy That Still Plays On: The Story of Graham Jackson Sr.
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Lying on the couch, scrolling through my iPhone, I came across a post on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Facebook page — a story from Meriwether County marking the 70th anniversary of the nation’s polio vaccination campaign.
The city of Warm Springs was honoring the place former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt considered a second home during treatment for his battle with polio and where FDR died on April 12, 1945.
The 80th anniversary of FDR’s death at the Little White House went mostly unnoticed in America.
“Dad was President Roosevelt’s favorite musician,” Graham Jackson Jr. told me from the family home of 8 decades on Atlanta’s Westside.
In 1945, Graham Jackson Sr. was one of Atlanta’s most famous residents.
“My father was introduced to FDR by Chip Roberts, a friend of Bo Calloway (Georgia businessman/politician)."
“In his four terms, my father played for FDR 24 times; they had a warm friendship," recalled Mr. Jackson Jr.
The night before FDR collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage, he spent the evening listening to Graham Jackson Sr. practice on his accordion — an instrument purchased in New York City by Winthrop Rockefeller, philanthropist and future Arkansas governor.
The president said, “I’m so glad you got here (Warm Springs), I have to go, I’ll see you later, I’m going home now.”
13 hours later, the President of the United States was dead at the age of 63.
When Mr. Jackson returned home to Atlanta, his celebrity had grown.
The small Jackson home, located across the street from Booker T. Washington High School — the first Black high school in America — would later be reconfigured.
It would be altered to resemble “The Little White House” in Warm Springs.
The Atlanta Aldermen (City Council) renamed the street —WhiteHouse Dr. SW.
Because of Mr. Jackson Sr., Booker T. Washington High School today is located at 45 Whitehouse Dr. SW Atlanta 30314.
Amidst segregation, Graham Jackson Sr. led an busy Atlanta life. He would correspond with Eleanor Roosevelt until her death in 1962.
Mr. Jackson Sr. raised $3 million in war bonds during World War II.
He appeared with the fabled Tuskegee Airmen at concerts.
Mr. Jackson Sr. played for President’s Truman, Eisenhower, JFK and LBJ.
“We met Daddy King and Mrs. King [parents of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.]; everyone knew my dad.”
When Sen. John F. Kennedy came to Georgia and Warm Springs to campaign for the presidency, it was Mr. Jackson Sr. next to JFK on stage.
“Dad was our music teacher. We wanted to watch cartoons on Saturday, but we had lessons in Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and the classics,” laughed Mr. Jackson.
The brothers would learn to play almost every instrument as taught by their father.
“We also had fun; when dad played the big organ at the Fox Theatre, he would take us, put us in front row seats, and he would play organ at the great 1960s Jazz concert with Jerome Hines.”
Mr. Jackson Jr. said his father was friends with Gov. Lester Maddox: “The phone would ring, I would answer — 'This is Gov. Maddox here, where is your daddy? I need to talk to him.'”
Gov. Maddox in 1969 appointed Mr. Jackson to the Georgia Board of Corrections.
He was the first African American to be appointed to a Georgia state administrative job, serving until 1971.
There are other accomplishments, too.
He hosted a midday radio program from his living room on Atlanta’s WERD Radio — the first Black-owned station in the United States.
Mr. Jackson was the music teacher at Booker T. Washington High School (1928-1940).
He held community outreach music programs, teaching classical music on the Westside.
He was honored by Govs. Herman Talmadge and Jimmy Carter, attended Morehouse College from 1922 to 1923, appeared on The Today Show and The Ed Sullivan Show, and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1985.
“My Dad took advantage; everyone loves musicians, and many doors were opened because of his ability.”
Mr. Jackson grew up in Portsmouth, Va. He traveled to 1920s Atlanta with a band.
He liked the bustling African American life on the Westside and stayed.
For the next 60 years, Mr. Jackson would become a well-known Atlanta educator, performer and celebrity.
“Music requires many jobs to make ends meet; when he wasn’t teaching kids music in their homes, he was performing at Pitty Pat’s Porch (restaurant) and playing Dixieland at Johnny Reb’s,” recalled Mr. Jackson Jr.
Graham Jackson Sr. passed away in January 1983, just shy of his 80th birthday.
Decades later, the family business plays on. Until 2020, Mr. Jackson Jr. performed nightly on the piano at Pitty Pat’s downtown.
“My wife (Veda) and I live in my father’s house, and my brother Gerald lives next door in a home my dad bought.”
The Jackson brothers are still playing music on Whitehouse Dr. SW.
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