Our Story

REVEREND DR. THEODORE JUDSON JEMISON, SR.

FOUNDER OF THE STAUNTON NAACP

Dr. Theodore Judson Jemison is a former pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Staunton, Virginia.  During his short tenure of four years and 10 months in Staunton, he accomplished much.  He advocated for a range of social and political justice initiatives for African Americans in our area.

Dr. Jemison was instrumental in working with other local ministries and citizens to obtain Montgomery Hall Park as a place for African Americans to socialize and enjoy recreational activities due to African Americans being denied use of Gypsy Hill Park because of segregation.

The Staunton Branch of the NAACP was chartered on November 11, 1946, under the organization and leadership of Dr. Jemison who became the first President of Staunton NAACP.

Dr. Jemison was born in Selma, Alabama to parents Rev. David V. Jemison, Sr. and Henrietta Jemison.  He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Alabama State University in Montgomery, Alabama and a Doctor of Divinity degree from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia.

In 1953, while serving as pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he helped lead the first civil rights boycott of segregated seating on public buses. He served as pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Baton Rouge for 54 years before retiring in 2003. He was a former president of the National Baptist Convention and was instrumental in creating its national headquarters, the World Baptist Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, NAACP, a 33rd degree Mason and a member of numerous civic and social justice organizations . He died on November 15, 2013 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.