Laurence C. Jones
Laurence C. Jones | |
---|---|
Born | November 21, 1882 |
Died | July 13, 1975 | (aged 92)
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Educator |
Known for | Founder of Piney Woods Country Life School |
Spouse | Grace Morris Allen |
Children | Laurence Jr., Turner, and Helen |
Laurence Clifton Jones (November 21, 1882 – July 13, 1975),[1] was the founder and long-time president of Piney Woods Country Life School in Rankin County, Mississippi.[2] A noted educational innovator, Jones spent his adult life supporting the educational advancement of rural African-American students in the segregated South.
Early life
Jones came from a family of educators, with an uncle who founded the Woodstock Manual Labor Institute in Woodstock, Michigan in 1846.[3] Before he was married to her, his future wife was the founder of the Grace M. Allen Industrial School for African American students in Burlington, Iowa.
After graduating from the
Founding Piney Woods
It was when he learned about rural
After marrying Grace Morris Allen in 1912, Jones built a larger school to accommodate the large number of students interested in attending.[7] A local white sawmill owner donated the wood for that building, and dozens of other donations arrived, including cattle for milk, a large amount of land near the school, and cash.[8] Throughout the rest of her life, Grace was pivotal in helping her husband fund-raise for the school, and by teaching courses in domestic science.[6]
In his popular book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, author and motivator Dale Carnegie told a story of how Jones had survived a near-lynching in 1918 by demonstrating to the white mob how passionate he was about his efforts to educate African-American children.[9] Several accounts support Carnegie's account that after being persuaded not to lynch him, the crowd actually ended up collecting money to give to Jones to support his school.[8] Carnegie quoting him saying "No man can force me to stoop low enough to hate him".
Methodology
Jones is attributed with utilizing the "
In 1929, with the arrival of Martha Louise Morrow Foxx to serve as principal, the Mississippi Blind School for Negroes was founded on the campus; it eventually moved to Jackson, Mississippi.
With assistance from his wife Jones led several singing groups across the South, the Midwest and the East on fundraising tours. The schools' Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, the Cotton Blossom Singers and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm were three of several acts. Beginning in the 1930s, the school also sponsored baseball teams as part of the fund-raising efforts.[13] Jones appeared on the This Is Your Life television show in the 1950s, and after telling his story asked viewers to each send in $1 to support the school.[14] This bid eventually raised $700,000,[11] with which Jones began the schools' endowment fund, which was reported to be at $7,000,000 when Jones died in 1975.
Recognition
Jones received
He was recognized for his contributions to the education of African American children by the University of Iowa when college president
Jones received the Silver Buffalo Award, the highest commendation of the Boy Scouts of America, in 1970.[17]
Legacy
Laurence C. Jones died in 1975. His daughter,
In 2007 the
Works
- "The bottom rail; addresses and papers on the Negro in the lowlands of Mississippi and on inter-racial relations in the South during twenty-five years." New York [etc.] Fleming H. Revell Company [c1935]
- "Piney Woods and its story." New York, Fleming H. Revell Company [c1922] at HathiTrust
- "The spirit of Piney Woods." New York, Fleming H. Revell company [c1931] at HathiTrust
References
- ^ Longden, Tom. "Jones, Laurence Clifton Archived 2013-12-04 at archive.today." Des Moines Register. September 3, 2008. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
- ISBN 1-57806-876-2.
- ^ (1996) Encyclopedia of African-American Education. Greenwood Press. p 55.
- ^ De Ramus, B. (2005) Forbidden Fruit: Love Stories from the Underground Railroad. Simon and Schuster. p 118.
- ^ De Ramus, B. (2005), p. 119.
- ^ a b c "Laurence C. and Grace M. Jones Post Office Building"[permanent dead link], GovTrack: House Records. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
- ^ "Grace Morris Allen Jones Papers" Archived 2008-02-02 at the Wayback Machine, University of Iowa. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
- ^ a b De Ramus, B. (2005), p. 120.
- ^ Carnegie, D. (2004), How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. Simon and Schuster, p. 115.
- ^ Harrison, A. (1983) Piney Woods School: An Oral History. University Press of Mississippi.
- ^ a b Schmidt, D.A. (2002) Iowa Pride. Xulon Press. p 209.
- ^ Howard, J. (2001) Men Like That: A Southern Queer History. University of Chicago Press. p 61.
- ^ Wilson, L.K. "The Singing Baseball Team." Negro Leagues Writings. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
- ^ "The Week in Review", Time magazine. December 27, 1954. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
- ^ Schmidt, D.A. (2002) p 210.
- ^ "Laurence Jones" Archived 2008-02-19 at the Wayback Machine, University of Iowa. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
- ^ "2007 Silver Buffalo Awards for Distinguished Service to Youth on a National Level", Boy Scouts of America National Council. Retrieved February 16, 2008.
- ^ Day, B. (1955) The Little Professor of Piney Woods: The Story of Professor Laurence Jones. Julian Messner, Inc.
- ^ De Ramus, B. (2005) p 122.