Alphonso R. Jackson

Alphonso Jackson, the youngest of 12 children, was born in 1945 in Marshall, Texas, but was raised in Dallas. His father, who had limited education, was the oldest of five boys. "When my father was starting the fifth grade, his father died," says Jackson. "That forced my father to quit school so that he could work and support his family. By the time I was born, he was a smelter and supplemented his income with a cleaning company he ran on week nights. On the weekends, he and I clipped lawns."

Jackson's mother, who was the youngest of six children, went to school as far as the eleventh grade, but the death of her father caused her to leave school go to work. She became a nurse and midwife. "My parents did not have a lot of education," says Jackson, "but they were two of the most intelligent people I've ever known. Their goal was to educate all 12 of their children. My father used to say to us, '˜I work three jobs so that one day you can either own a business or only work one job.'"

Jackson describes his family as extremely loving. His closest sibling in age was a sister who was eight years older, so there was never a time when he lived with all 11 of his siblings. But every Sunday they all came home with their families and spent the day together. Jackson's parents were understanding and affectionate, but they also demanded good behavior from their children. His mother always told him that if he told her the truth, she and his father would support him. "That was the nature of our relationship," he says. "It was warm and loving, but I knew I always had to tell them the truth."

The Jackson family lived in South Dallas, which was segregated at that time. "We were not allowed to cross what is now called Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard," says Jackson. "We shopped at small mom-and-pop stores and never went downtown except to clean buildings. It wasn't until I attended a Catholic school in seventh grade that I encountered white people on a large scale. We didn't talk much about segregation or racism at home. It was just the way of the world and we did our best to get along in it."

Jackson had undiagnosed breathing problems throughout his childhood. Whether it was asthma caused by allergies or a complication from his premature birth, he never knew. But his breathing issues caused him to spend two or three days a week at the hospital in an iron lung. His mother and his sisters visited with him at the hospital, reading to him and trying to keep him from being frightened. At one point, a doctor told his parents they should not expect him to survive his teen years. Finally, when he was near the end of sixth grade, a new resident doctor at Children's Hospital, who was raised in Switzerland and a believer in the benefits of physical fitness, suggested he should start running to expand his lung capacity. Jackson's mother was against the idea, but his father thought they had nothing to lose by letting him try.

About this time, Jackson began attending an integrated Catholic school. He began running track and soon discovered that he had a gift for running. The exercise benefited him so much that his seventh grade marked the first year he was able to attend school nearly every day. As a child, he had been so physically frail and spent so much time at the hospital he had no friends outside of his family. But life improved dramatically after his health issues were resolved.

As a boy, Jackson got in the habit of getting up early each morning to sit with his father while he drank his coffee. "My dad worked three jobs and I didn't see much of him when I was little," says Jackson. "But when I was older and healthier, I was able to do janitorial and lawn jobs with him. I also got a job delivering the black newspaper. In those days, every major city had a black newspaper that was published once or twice a week, covering the news within the black community."

Jackson received a full four-year scholarship to Lincoln University, an all-male, historically black school in Oxford, Pennsylvania. Living in an unsegregated city gave Jackson more freedom than he had ever known. For the first time in his life he was able to walk downtown freely, going into department stores and restaurants. He also began watching television. "We never had a television in our home," he says. "My father told us it would waste our minds. So we either read or listened to the radio in the evenings. But now I became interested in the news. This was 1965 and the start of the Civil Rights Movement. A friend recruited me to go to Marion, Alabama, to help with voter registration. While I was down there, I joined in the now-famous march from Selma to Montgomery with Dr. Martin Luther King. That day was later called Bloody Sunday and my participation in that march was an awakening."

Jackson admits that he went through a period of anger and distrust in 1965, but at the end of 1966, he was faced with the fact that his father was dying from cancer. The last conversation he had with him profoundly changed Jackson's negative feelings. "My father told me that I had to let go of my hatred. He reminded me that Martin Luther King told us that it is the hater who suffers, not the person who is hated. My father died the day after we talked, and his advice to let go of my anger became my personal motto. I also took comfort from something Abraham Lincoln once said: You can never retrace your steps once progress is made. I have had the opportunity to travel the world, and I see what a great nation the United States is. As a black person who lives in America, I say we are the freest people of color on the face of the earth. With all our imperfections and problems, I wake up every morning feeling blessed to have been born in in this country. But freedom is something you must fight for and cherish, or it can be lost. I have learned that it is important to listen to the other side without being defensive and to speak without being offensive. You should always leave the other person with their dignity."

When his father became ill, Jackson transferred to East Texas State University in Commerce, Texas, so that he could be near his family. Once again, he had a full scholarship to the school, but he knew right away it was not a good fit for him. His track coach was forced to integrate his team, which was something he had not wanted to do. While his coach had a good reputation for having a winning track squad, Jackson couldn't resolve the fact that he was deeply prejudiced. At the end of the year, and after the death of his father, Jackson transferred once again to Truman State University in Missouri. While there, he was mentored by Coach Gardner, who fully supported Jackson's intention to pursue a degree in political science followed by law school. By the time he was a senior, Jackson was part of an All-American track team. "From Coach Gardner, I learned that it's better to be concerned with your character than your reputation because your reputation is what other people think you are, but your character is what you really are."

After earning his degree in political science from Truman State in 1968, Jackson went on to earn a master's in education administration from the same school and then earned his JD in 1973 from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. That same year he became an assistant professor at the University of Missouri, and from 1977 to 1981, he served as the director of public safety for the City of St. Louis. Later, he was appointed as executive director of the St. Louis Housing Authority. In 1987, he became the director of the Department of Public and Assisted Housing in Washington, D.C.

In 1989, Jackson became the president and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Dallas, Texas. He was the first African American to head the agency. In his seven years on the job, he worked to improve the dilapidated buildings and unsafe conditions that had become standard in the city's neglected public-housing units. The Dallas Housing Authority was named the best-managed city housing authority in the country during Jackson's tenure.

In 1996, he left the public sector and joined American Electric Power as president of Texas operations. In 2001, he was appointed as the U.S. Housing and Urban Development deputy secretary and COO under the George W. Bush administration. In 2004, he became the nation's 13th U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. From 2008 to 2012, he served as the distinguished university professor and director of the Center for Public Policy and Leadership at Hampton University. In 2012, he became vice chairman-mortgage banking at JP Morgan Chase in New York City. In 2015, Jackson joined First Data Corporation as senior advisor to the chairman and CEO. Currently, he serves on the First Data Corporation International Advisory Board and is the CEO of A.R. Jackson Advisors LLC.

Looking back over his impressive career, largely in the public sector, Jackson says, "It is only in this country that I could come from a segregated Dallas and end up as a member of a Presidential cabinet. Have we fully eradicated racism in the United States? No. There are still individuals who don't want to perceive me as a human being with the same sense of worth as they have for themselves, but I have learned to view that as their problem, not my problem."

When asked about his views on success, Jackson says, "Success is never final and failure is never fatal. My father taught me that what counts is the courage you show in pursuing what you want to do, but always adhering to your personal values and ethics. For me, success is doing your very best at anything you attempt."

Jackson believes the only limitations we can have are the ones we place on ourselves. He says, "I tell young people not to limit their dreams. Believe in yourself and your abilities. If you dream it and you fight for it, you can do it."