J. Charles Jones
J. Charles Jones | |
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Born | Civil Rights Movement | August 23, 1937
Joseph Charles Jones (August 23, 1937 – December 27, 2019) was an American
Jones was born in Chester, South Carolina.[2] In 1961 Jones joined the Freedom Riders driving from Atlanta, Georgia, to Birmingham, Alabama; he was later arrested in Montgomery, Alabama. He led and participated in several sit-in movements during the 1960s. In 1966, Jones organized an activist organization called the Action Coordinating Committee to End Segregation in the Suburbs or ACCESS.[3]
He was a graduate of Howard University Law School (1966).[1] Jones passed the North Carolina State Bar in 1976.[1] He also served as the chairperson for the Biddleville/Smallwood/Five Points Neighborhood Association.[1][3]
Early life and education
Jones was born in
There was a day, when I was about six, that Jonesy had been accused of smiling at a white lady uptown and the word was out that they (the Klan) were going to get him. So my father and his friend put Jonesy in the trunk of the car with some food, and they drove off. I didn't understand it at the time, but they were saving him from being lynched – just for smiling at her. I began to realize the harsh consequences of not obeying the rules. — J. Charles Jones[5]
He lived in Chester for ten years until his family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1947. They made the move so his father could attend Johnson C. Smith University, having been told by the church that he must acquire a degree.[4] Jones himself later enrolled in Johnson C. Smith University for theology in 1960.[6][7]
Civil rights activism
On February 1, 1960, after attending the National Youth Summit Conference in the Soviet Union, Jones learned of a sit-in protest at the Greensboro Woolworth staged by four black activists to peacefully confront racial segregation.[5] On February 8, 1960, Jones went to the vice chair of the student body and met with some of his classmates to inform them he intended to launch a similar sit-in protest in Charlotte's Woolworth on February 9.[3][5][8][9] At least 200 of his classmates joined in the first sit-in at the local Woolworth.[9] At that sit-in, Jones stated to reporters:
I have no malice, no jealousy, no hatred, no envy. All I want is to come in and place my order and be served and leave a tip if I feel like it. — J. Charles Jones[10]
On March 7, 1960, after the local Woolworth closed its
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
Jones co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC),[11] with Ella Baker and many others at Shaw University in 1960.[1] He was involved in leading and participating in many sit-ins and other protests for the committee.[3] Jones stated of his participation in the sit-ins, "We were obligated to do it. The movement had caught fire."[10]
After staging a sit-in in
On July 19, 1962, Jones obtained a permit and organized an integration protest at the all-white Tift Park in Albany, Georgia.[14] The police however, still kept the blacks segregated in a more secluded area of the park.[14] The Albany park officials stated they had been tricked into allowing blacks to stage the protest at the park, stating that white people had submitted the permit and that they were not aware blacks would be present.[14] Jones and two other black SNCC activists used the all-white restroom at the park, and the police quickly closed all of bathrooms in the park except for two which were kept under close police supervision.[14]
On July 27, 1962, Dr.
Freedom Riders
In 1961 Jones participated in the Freedom Riders movement.[17] He and other activists rode buses into the segregated southern United States, to challenge the non-enforcement in the southern United States of the Supreme Court rulings Morgan v. Virginia (1946) and Boynton v. Virginia (1960),[18] which decided that segregated public buses were unconstitutional.[19]
We got on the bus, we went further south, and the crowds of angry white folk started to get bigger and bigger. I heard my grandma's spirit say, "You're God's child; you're as good as any of them." — J. Charles Jones[17]
March on Washington
In 1963, Jones participated in the planning for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.[20] He recalled attending the I Have a Dream speech by King,[10] and was struck with awe at the number of people who showed up.[20][21]
I had never seen that many people. I said 'Oh my God.' My spirit just began to lift and lift and lift, and I was awed at that moment at what was happening. — J. Charles Jones[20][21]
After witnessing King begin to deliver his speech, he said that he knew change was going to happen.[20][21]
ACCESS
In June 1966 Jones founded a movement named the Action Coordinating Committee to End Segregation in the Suburbs (ACCESS) to attempt to end the
In 1967, Jones attended a meeting with the eighth
Later life and legacy
Jones moved to the majority black Biddleville community in
Charles Jones talked about a beloved community, a city in which we all talked to each other, respect each other. Because of Charles Jones we are much closer to that beloved community than we would’ve been without his courage. — Tom Hanchett[11]
On December 9, 2019 the city council of Charlotte officially declared that day to be Joseph Charles Jones Day; on his behalf, his wife accepted the honor.[11] Jones died on December 27, 2019, at the age of 82 from complications of Alzheimer's disease and sepsis.[24][25] Charlotte City Councilman Justin Harlow described Jones after his death as "a true stalwart in advocacy".[10]
See also
- Jim Crow laws
- Civil Rights Movement
References
- ^ a b c d e f The Digital Library of Georgia (2013). "Jones, Charles, 1937-". crdl.usg.edu. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ^ "Charles Jones oral history interview 1, 2005 May 18". UNC Charlotte. J. Murrey Atkins Library. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Moore, David Aaron (January 22, 2011). "Stumbling Across a Hero". Charlotte Magazine. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Miles, Kara (June 16, 1993). "Interview with Charles Joseph Jones: Transcript of an Interview about Life in the Jim Crow South Charlotte (N.C.)" (PDF). Duke University. Behind the Veil: Documenting African-American Life in the Jim Crow South Digital Collection: John Hope Franklin Research Center, Duke University Libraries. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 24, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "A Story Of Our Past: The Beloved Community, Sit Ins, And The Freedom Riders". QC Exclusive. March 17, 2016. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Negro Student Protest Is Continued In State". Statesville Record And Landmark. Winston-Salem. UPI. March 8, 1960. p. 3. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ "This Date in History: April 16, 1960; Oxford University Press". OUPblog. April 16, 2008. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Negro Protest Started Again". Statesville Record And Landmark. Charlotte. UPI. March 24, 1960. p. 19. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Dys, Andrew; Henderson, Bruce (December 27, 2019). "Civil rights 'hero' Charles Jones, who led Charlotte lunch counter sit-ins, dies at 82". Rock Hill Herald. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g Escobar, Estephany (December 28, 2019). "Civil Rights Leader Dies at 82". Spectrum News. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- ^ a b "'Sing-In' Negroes Eat Hearty; Say 'Jail—No Bail'". The Spartanburg Herald. Associated Press. February 21, 1961. Retrieved December 1, 2010.
Eight Negro Demonstrators indisciplinary cell at the York County Prison Camp accepted and ate second helpings Monday of the full meal given every third day to prisoners on bread and water.
- ISBN 9781317256533.
- ^ a b c d e "Georgia City Under Pressure: Negros Integrate Park". Pensacola News Journal. UPI. July 20, 1962. p. 35. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Civil Rights Digital Library. "Stretcher arrests". The Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f Thomas, Courtney; Professor Barbara McCaskill. Davis, Christina; Stanley, Deborah (eds.). "Freedom On Film: Civil Rights In Georgia; Stretcher Arrests". Digital Library of Georgia. UGA. Archived from the original on June 13, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ 364 U.S.
- ^ 328 U.S. 373 (1946); also Morgan v. Virginia. Law.cornell.edu. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Terry, Marshall (August 27, 2013). "Charlotte Attorney Recalls March On Washington". WFAE. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- ^ a b c Harrison, Steve (December 27, 2019). "Civil Rights Leader Charles Jones Has Died". WFAE. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
- ^ ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the originalon February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the originalon February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ Genzlinger, Neil (January 10, 2020). "J. Charles Jones, Civil Rights Activist, Is Dead at 82". The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ^ "Civil Rights leader Charles Jones dies at 82". WBTV. CBS.