Mississippi doctor, civil rights pioneer James Anderson dies

JACKSON, Miss. -- Well-known African-American physician and civil rights activist Dr. James Anderson has died. He was 82.

A spokeswoman for People's Funeral Home in Jackson confirmed Anderson died Monday. WLBT-TV reported Anderson died at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The cause of death has not been released.

Anderson helped establish the Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center, where he was chief executive until his retirement in 1998.

Mississippi lawmakers honored Anderson in 2017, noting he had worked for more than 50 years to provide health care in low-income, uninsured and minority communities.

Anderson was part of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee during the civil rights movement.

He was one of the first three African-American doctors to earn full hospital privileges in the Mississippi State Medical Association.