Black businessman and community leader who helped protect the Stephensons and became one of the men prosecuted after the uprising
James Morton was an undertaker, the owner of Morton Funeral Home and a Red Cross volunteer. He and his wife, Mary, lived beside the funeral home in Columbia’s Black business district, where the Morton family held an important place in community life.
After James and Gladys Stephenson were arrested, Morton joined Julius and Sol Blair and other Black leaders in raising their bond and helping move them away from the threatened lynching. Later that night, he allowed several armed men seeking shelter to enter his home but instructed them to put down their weapons and remain quiet. When officers raided the house the following morning, Morton was arrested despite asking—and receiving no answer about—what charge he faced.
Morton Funeral Home and the family’s home were heavily damaged and looted during the raid. Mary Morton’s appeal to the NAACP helped bring attorneys to Columbia, while James became one of the Black leaders charged in connection with the shooting of four police officers. He was later acquitted by the Lawrenceburg jury.
James Morton
An image of the Mrs. A.J. Morton & Son Funeral Home in Columbia, Tennessee
Mrs. A.J. Morton & Son Funeral Home was owned and operated by the Morton family for 100 years, serving generations of Black families in Columbia while remaining an important part of the community surrounding East Eighth Street. Its historic significance has been recognized through its listing in the National Register of Historic Places and its inclusion in the African American Civil Rights Network, which identifies places connected to the people and events of the Civil Rights Movement.
