New Mural Honors Inez Jackson's Legacy

San Jose added a new public memorial to Inez Jackson this week at the African American Community Service Agency, where a mural now covers the exterior of the Inez Jackson Library near North Sixth and Julian streets. The work honors a civil rights activist whose name has long been attached to the library but whose public presence in the city had remained limited, according to fundraising materials for the project. The mural was created through a partnership that included the African American Community Service Agency, local artist Ian Young and supporters organized through Local Color. The Mercury News reported the unveiling on May 19. ### Who was Inez Jackson in San Jose civic life? Inez Jackson was San Jose’s first Black postal clerk in 1949, according to project materials published by Local Color. The same materials describe her as an activist, teacher and postal worker who fought discrimination in housing, education and employment after moving from Oklahoma to California. The Mercury News said Jackson later led the boards of the NAACP and YWCA in Santa Clara County. (mercurynews.com) A separate biographical source cited by local history projects says she served as president of the local NAACP from 1969 to 1973 and of the area YWCA from 1973 to 1976. ### Why was the mural placed at the Inez Jackson Library? (fundrazr.com) The African American Community Service Agency, founded in 1978, said it remains one of Silicon Valley’s few African American cultural hubs. Jackson co-founded the agency in 1978, according to Local Color’s campaign page, and a library at the center was later named in her honor. Local Color’s fundraising page said there was “little to commemorate” Jackson’s legacy in public in San Jose before the project. (mercurynews.com) The campaign said organizers wanted the mural to beautify the AACSA building, memorialize the library’s namesake and draw new visitors to the site. ### Who made the mural happen? Local Color’s campaign page identified Ian Young as the local artist for the project and said the work was developed in partnership with AACSA. (sjaacsa.org) The page also described Quiet Giant Design, Young’s visual arts and graphic design company, as the studio behind his work. The preliminary reporting on the project said San Jose Public Library was involved in creating the artwork. (fundrazr.com) San Jose Public Library’s public art and local history pages show the library system maintains art programming and archival collections focused on San Jose history, though the specific project page for the mural was not surfaced in search results reviewed for this story. That leaves the library’s precise role in commissioning or installation not fully detailed in publicly available source material reviewed here. ### What does the mural add to the site now? The AACSA campus at 304 North Sixth Street already serves as a community anchor with education, wellness and cultural programming, according to the organization’s website. The library bearing Jackson’s name sits within that broader mission to preserve African American culture and support full participation in Santa Clara County civic life, the agency says. (sjpl.org) The mural gives that history a larger street-facing marker. Fundraising materials said organizers wanted the piece to function as a landmark for the building as well as a memorial to Jackson’s life and work. ### What happens next at the site? AACSA’s website lists ongoing public events at the North Sixth Street location, including classes and open-library programming in May. (sjaacsa.org) The organization is also advertising its 45th Annual Juneteenth in the Streets Festival for June 13, 2026, in downtown San Jose and a June 7 Juneteenth Freedom Ball, giving the newly marked site a role in the group’s upcoming public calendar. (fundrazr.com)