Learning Resources
Explore videos, articles, and historical archives and bring the Jackson’s story to life.
Family History, Biography & Community Legacy
Helen Claytor, Activist In Civil Rights, YWCA
The Washington Post
May 14, 2005 (Paywalled)
A biographical obituary highlighting the life and civic leadership of Helen Jackson Claytor, a prominent civil rights leader, former national president of the YWCA, and member of the extended Jackson family.
Cooke, Marvel Jackson (1901–2000)
MNopedia – Minnesota Historical Society
An accessible encyclopedia entry outlining the life, journalism career, and political activism of Marvel Jackson Cooke, situating her within Minnesota and national Black history.
Marvel Jackson Cooke, 99, Pioneering Black Newspaper Reporter
The New York Times
December 10, 2000 (Paywalled)
A detailed obituary documenting Cooke’s groundbreaking career as one of the first Black women to work for a white-owned mainstream newspaper, her investigative reporting, and her lifelong activism.
Marvel Cooke: Investigative Journalist, Communist and Black Radical Subject
Journal for the Study of Radicalism
Fall 2012 (Paywalled)
A scholarly analysis of Marvel Cooke’s work as a radical investigative journalist and political actor, situating her within broader Black radical and labor movements.
The Bronx Slave Market
Crisis Magazine (NAACP)
November 1935 (Paywalled / archival)
A landmark investigative article co-authored by Ella Baker and Marvel Cooke exposing the exploitation of Black domestic workers in New York City.
(Available via Google Books scans, pp. 330–341)
The Bronx Slave Market (1950)
Viewpoint Magazine
A historical analysis examining domestic labor exploitation and the long-term significance of Cooke and Baker’s original investigation.
Oral History, Interviews & Undercover Reporting
Women in Journalism: Interviewees; Marvel Cooke
Washington Press Club Foundation
An oral history interview offering first-person reflections on Cooke’s journalism career and her experiences as a Black woman in the press.
Marvel Cooke
NYU – Undercover Reporting Project
Archival materials and images documenting Marvel Cooke’s undercover reporting work and investigative methods.
Film, Video & Multimedia
A Biography in Four Voices
Scribe Video Center - February 7, 1996
A documentary film presenting intergenerational Black women’s histories, including journalistic and activist voices connected to the Jackson family’s broader legacy.
Housing, Segregation & Structural Racism Context
Racial Housing Covenants in the Twin Cities
MNopedia – Minnesota Historical Society
An overview of racially restrictive housing covenants in Minneapolis–St. Paul, providing essential context for understanding Black family housing access and displacement.
Mapping Prejudice
University of Minnesota
An interactive project mapping racially restrictive covenants across Minneapolis, offering visual and data-driven insight into systemic housing discrimination.
Archival Photographs & Finding Aids
Raising Her Voice: African-American Journalists Who Changed History
University Press of Kentucky - 1994
A scholarly book highlighting the contributions of Black women journalists, including Marvel Jackson Cooke.
Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class
Holt Paperbacks - 2004
A social history examining Black migration, labor, and the formation of the Black middle class in the United States.
Books & Secondary Sources
Dr. Robert W. and Helen J. Claytor Photo Essay
Grand Rapids History Center
A collection of photographs and contextual materials documenting the lives and public work of Dr. Robert W. Claytor and Helen J. Claytor.
Helen Jackson Claytor Civil Rights Collection
Grand Rapids History Center
An archival collection containing documents, photographs, and materials related to Helen Jackson Claytor’s civil rights leadership and community work.
Black History Exhibit Collection (Collection 113)
Grand Rapids History Center
A finding aid for an institutional Black history collection that includes materials relevant to the Claytor and Jackson families.