Wallace Jackson grew up in the Vine City area and was an activist who dedicated his life to improving the quality of life for his beloved community. He played split end on the O’Keefe High School football team and starred on the school’s track squad which enabled him to receive a track scholarship to the University of Georgia in 1977 where he majored in journalism.
After graduating, he worked as a freelance journalist and taught school in the Atlanta Public School system.
His first college job was Sports Information Director at Albany State University where he spent 10 years and later at Alabama A&M University.
He went on to become the first full-time SIAC commissioner from 1990 – 2000. Jackson helped establish the Pioneer Bowl spotlighting the SIAC football champion and fought to get television exposure for the conference.
He helped a lot of athletes get scholarships that they would not have had otherwise,” said his brother, the Rev. Hoyt Jackson.
Wallace was constantly fighting for low-income families and to provide affordable housing in the neighborhood where he grew up. He served as board vice chairman on the Atlanta Empowerment Zone Commission and chaired the commission’s community leg, the Community Empowerment Advisory Board.
He was named Outstanding Young Man in America in 1984 – 1991 by the College Sports Information Directors Association (COSIDA). Through his association with COSIDA, Jackson served on the Academic All – America Committee, the Publicity For Women Sports Committee, the Ethics Committee, the Publicity For Women Sports Committee, the Ethics Committee, and the All-American Committee.