William Augustus Jones Jr.
William Augustus Jones Jr. (February 24, 1934 – February 4, 2006) was an African-American Minister and Civil Rights leader.
Biography
William Augustus Jones Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Mary Elisabeth Jones and William Augustus Jones Sr. His life was considered to began as a medical miracle. It was said that he was not expected to be born alive because of a traumatic childbirth. Jones reflecting upon the story of his birth once said: "All of my days have been lived with the feeling that Divine Providence has upheld, sustained and directed my destiny."[citation needed]
Jones graduated with honors in sociology from the University of Kentucky, though he could not play basketball because African Americans were barred from the team.[1] He earned a doctorate from Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. While studying at Crozer, Jones worshipped at the Calvary Baptist Church and became known as one of the "Sons of Calvary" along with Martin Luther King Jr. and Samuel D. Proctor, who all went on to become well known preachers in the Black Church.[2] He enlisted in the United States Army in 1954 as a Private and was discharged in 1956 as a First Lieutenant.
As a young Minister, Jones was taught by BG Crawley, who was his pioneer and known as "The Walking Encyclopedia" to Baptist Ministers across the nation. Crawley was a Judge and founder of Little Zion Baptist Church of Brooklyn, New York.[citation needed]
Jones joined Martin Luther King Jr. in 1961, splitting from conservative Baptist churches and forming the Progressive National Baptist Convention. He was known for being an outspoken and prophetic critic. In the 1960s, Al Sharpton, a Pentecostal minister at the time, was introduced to Jones. F. D. Washington. Jones became a mentor to Sharpton, and eventually Sharpton became part of the Baptist denomination.[3]
For 43 years, Jones served as minister at Bethany Baptist, a 5,000-member church in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, and hosted a syndicated weekly radio program called Bethany Hour. The Bethany Hour was also broadcast weekly on the syndicated Family Radio program hosted by the late Harold Camping. In 1979, Jones published a book entitled God in the Ghetto.[4]
See also
Jennifer Jones Austin - Daughter
References
- ^ Martin, Douglas (8 February 2006). "The Rev. William A. Jones, Civil Rights Activist, Dies at 71". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ Baldwin, Lewis V. (1991). There is a Balm in Gilead: The Cultural Roots of Martin Luther King, Jr. Minneapolis: Fortress Publishing. p. 167. ISBN 0-8006-2457-2. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
- ^ Interview with Al Sharpton, David Shankbone, Wikinews, December 3, 2007.
- ^ William A. Jones Jr., God in the Ghetto. Elgin, Illinois: Progressive Baptist Publishing House, 1979.
Sources
- The life and ministry of Jones as recounted in part by Jones in his Spiritual Autobiography, 1972.
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- Religion in Black America
- Historically African-American Christian denominations
- Clergy
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church | |
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First African Baptist Church (Richmond, Virginia) | |
First African Baptist Church (Savannah, Georgia) |
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Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship | |
Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention | |
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. | |
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. | |
National Missionary Baptist Convention of America | |
Progressive National Baptist Convention |
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United American Free Will Baptist Church |
- Apostolic Assemblies of Christ
- Apostolic Faith Church (William J. Seymour)
- Church of God in Christ (Charles Edward Blake Sr.
- Andraé Crouch
- Sandra Crouch
- Robert Michael Franklin Jr.
- Samuel Green Jr.
- Edwin Hawkins
- O. T. Jones Sr.
- John P. Kee
- Charles Harrison Mason
- Chandler David Owens Sr
- Gilbert E. Patterson
- J. O. Patterson Jr.
- Wayne Perryman
- Ted Thomas Sr.
- F. D. Washington
- Dickerson Wells
- Timothy Wright
- Lennox Yearwood)
- Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith (Robert C. Lawson)
- Church of Universal Triumph, Dominion of God (James F. Jones
- James Shaffer)
- Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas
- Mount Sinai Holy Church of America (Ida B. Robinson)
- Pentecostal Assemblies of the World
- Pentecostal Churches of Christ (J. Delano Ellis)
- Reformed Zion Union Apostolic Church
- Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ (Elias Dempsey Smith)
- United Pentecostal Council of the Assemblies of God, Incorporated
- United Holy Church of America
- United Sabbath-Day Adventist Church
- Black Catholicism (Servant of God Mother Mary Lange
- Venerable Mother Henriette DeLille
- William Augustine Williams
- Venerable Pierre Toussaint
- Venerable Fr Augustus Tolton
- George Clements
- Bishop John Ricard
- Servant of God Julia Greeley
- Servant of God Sr Thea Bowman
- Sr Jamie Phelps, OP
- Clarence Rivers
- Fr Cyprian Davis, OSB
- Archbishop James Lyke
- Cardinal Wilton Gregory)
- African Orthodox Church (George Alexander McGuire)
- Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A. (Charles Price Jones)
- Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America
- City of Refuge UCC (Yvette Flunder)
- Global United Fellowship (Neil Ellis)
- Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation (George Augustus Stallings Jr.)
- Interdenominational Theological Center
- Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge
- Love Center Church (Walter Hawkins)
- Original Church of God or Sanctified Church
- Spencer Churches (Peter Spencer)
- Trinity United Church of Christ (Otis Moss III)
- United House of Prayer for All People (Marcelino Manuel da Graça
- Walter McCollough
- Samuel C. Madison
- C.M. Bailey)