Jack Yates
John Henry "Jack" Yates (July 11, 1828 – December 22, 1897) was an American freedman, minister, and community leader. Born enslaved in
Gloucester County, Virginia, on July 11, 1828, Yates was taught to read at an early age by his enslaver's child. He married Harriet Willis, who was enslaved on a neighboring farm. When her enslaver moved his plantation to Texas to avoid emancipation, Yates, then a free man, asked to be re-enslaved in order to stay with his family. He joined his family in
Matagorda County, Texas, until their emancipation in 1865. The family then relocated to Houston, where he helped establish
Freedman's Town, purchased property, and began
ministering to the community. In 1868, Yates was named the first full-time preacher of the
Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Houston's first Black baptist church. As a community leader, Yates organized Houston Academy, now
Booker T. Washington High School;
Bethel Baptist Church; and Houston's
Emancipation Park. He died in 1897. Yates' original Houston home, the Jack Yates House, was donated to Houston's Heritage Society and first opened to the public in 1996.
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