When Jesse Lee Douglas, Sr. died four years ago, it went mainly unnoticed by the mainstream media. Not being recognized and celebrated was consistent with the life of a man who made his mark behind the scenes, most notably for his role in helping to organize the historic march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. But this was just one of the many key events during the civil rights campaign where Douglas was a key organizer or leader. Douglas was born on August 9, 1930, in New Orleans. His father, William Douglas, was a chef for the United States Merchant Marines, and his mother, Isabella Douglas, worked as a maid. He was often misidentified as a white man, but he was a Black man affected by albinism, the rare genetic disorder that leaves his skin without pigmentation.
Douglas often said that his albinism spared him from being harassed and beaten by the police. He attended Dillard University and then transferred to Lane College, from which he graduated in 1959.
He was a student at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta (ITC) when Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired him to lead a protest in the cafeteria in the Georgia State Capitol in 1960. That act to desegregate the cafeteria resulted in a landmark lawsuit, Douglas and Reynolds v. Vandenburg, that eventually led to all the facilities in the Capitol building being desegregated.
Later, he received his Doctor of Ministry degree from the ITC. As a minister, he pastored several churches, including one in Detroit at Metropolitan CME Church. He married Blanch Gordon in 1962, and they remained a couple until she died in 2015. They had three children, Adrienne, Jesse Jr., and Winston.
From 1963 to 1966, Douglas was president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, and it was in this capacity that he spearheaded the Selma march. There is one widely published photo of him being linked arm in arm with Dr. King, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis, and James Forman. In an interview he gave to The Park Church Charlotte in 2013. He left advice for the current generation as it navigates the current Civil Rights challenges.
“I would say learn to love one another, it’s the greatest force on Earth,” said Douglas. “Jesus said in his 11th commandment before he ascended into heaven, I want you to love one another as I have loved you, and if you have love one to another then all men will know that you are my disciples.” “…Jesus Christ was the epitome of love and if we are to move ahead we’ve got to learn to love each other not because of.”