From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Dennis M. Jackson, from Murray, KY, in 1960 was the first African American varsity athlete at Murray State University, where he played halfback for the football team and also ran track. His picture was included in the 1963 Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Track Champions photograph. Jackson was a member of the 440 relay team, which tied an OVC record.

Jackson graduated from Murray with his B.A. in physical education in 1965 and later earned his M.A. in secondary education administration. He was not only an outstanding athlete in college, he had also been outstanding at Douglass High School and was inducted into the Kentucky High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2007, he was inducted into the Murray State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Jackson was a part-time personnel director of the Paducah public schools; he retired from the school system in 2005. He served as a member of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (see paragraph four), his term ending in 2015.

Dennis Jackson died in June of 2025.

For more see L. L. Wright, "Jackson only wanted to play," Kentucky Post, 1/27/2007, Sports section, p. B7; and OVC Celebrates Diversity: Dennis Jackson on OVC Sports.com, 5/4/2015. Additional information provided by Murray State University Library.