He found a booklet written by his mother titled
Our Duty to the Colored People. This encouraged him to set up a mission to spread the Adventist message to African American people in the southern United States. He set up mission schools for black people along the
Mississippi River. The first school set up was on a boat called the
Morning Star. This boat had a library, a chapel, a photography lab, a print shop, and accommodation for staff. Schools were created at
Vicksburg, Mississippi,
Yazoo City, Lintonia, and
Nashville, Tennessee. The mission built up to 50 schools, building an organization called Southern Missionary Society. This became part of the Adventist
Southern Union Conference. The publishing organization that Edson established was originally known as the "Gospel Herald Publishing Company". It was taken over by the church He started the "J. E. White Publishing Company." ==Books written==