The Papers of Reverend Dr. William Augustus Jones, Jr.
Scope and Contents
The Papers of the Reverend Dr. William A. Jones, Jr. includes material on the many years that the Reverend Jones was affiliated with Bethany Baptist Church, including church bulletins, fliers, programs, publications, photos, and plans for a new church.
The correspondence contains the many letters Dr. Jones received from universities, publishing companies, and correspondence from a number of religious organizations and colleges. Included as well is a letter from then-President Bill Clinton congratulating Reverend Jones “on forty years of dedicated leadership.” There are also general files that are comprised of clippings, press releases, course syllabi, telegrams, and an assortment of religious publications. Reverend Jones’ writings, such as his personal notebooks with sermon topics, and his thesis are also in the collection. Evidence of Reverend Jones’ activism, including items related to the boycott he led on the Atlantic and Pacific supermarket chain and his involvement in “Operation Breadbasket” (part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference he chaired in the late 1960’s), can be found in this collection as well.
The personal items include photographs of Reverend Jones and his family, autobiographical information, and the many awards, citations, honors, and proclamations that he received. Also included are several plaques as well as photographs of many of the other awards. There are also the audiocassettes and videotapes covering the numerous sermons that Reverend Jones gave on The Bethany Hour which was broadcast nationwide on the radio every Sunday morning. Finally, there are personal books Reverend Jones collected.
Dates
- 1950s - 2006
- Majority of material found within 1960s-1990s
Creator
- Jones, William A., 1934-2006 (Person)
Access/Use
This collection is open to researchers. Copyright is retained by the Jones family. Files can be accessed at the Brooklyn College Library Archives & Special Collection, 2900 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, New York.
Biographical / Historical
The Reverend Dr. William Augustus Jones, Jr. (1934-2006), Baptist preacher, activist, author, professor, and pastor of Brooklyn’s Bethany Baptist Church for forty-three years, was born to Mary Elizabeth Gill and Reverend William Augustus Jones, Sr., in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1934. His birth was viewed as a “medical miracle” because his mother had developed a bad case of toxemia.
As the son and grandson of Baptist ministers, Jones was influenced by both. As a young man, Jones served in the U. S. Army (1953-56). He then attended the University of Kentucky graduating with honors in sociology. In 1958, Jones married Natalie Barkley Brown of Louisville and became pastor of the First Baptist Church in Paschall, PA. He attended Crozer Theological Seminary earning a divinity degree (1961) and received his doctorate from Colgate Rochester Divinity School (1975).
In 1962, Reverend Jones arrived at Brooklyn’s Bethany Baptist Church. By 1973, 2,000 new members had joined the congregation, a new building was built (at a cost of $1,250,000.), and 90% of Bethany’s graduates were completing college. Reverend Jones sermonized at St. Patrick’s Cathedral (New York), the First All-Asian Baptist Church Congress (India), the International Congress on Preaching (Edinburgh), and on the radio and television. He taught pastoral courses at Colgate Rochester, Union Seminary in New York, Princeton Theological Seminary, United Theological Seminary formerly of Dayton, Ohio, now in Trotwood, Ohio, and Wesley Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Reverend Jones also served as national president of Operation Breadbasket, the economic arm of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference founded by Martin Luther King, Jr. He was chair of the New York Chapter of SCLC in the late 1960’s and actively took part in numerous protests, including a boycott against the Atlantic & Pacific stores for their discrimination against blacks. He was a member of the Progressive National Baptist Convention served as its President from 1978-80. Jones founded the National Black Pastors’ Conference, an interdenominational gathering of black clergy, and was a member of the General Council of the Baptist World Alliance. Reverend Jones wrote several books and received numerous awards and honors -- Ebony Magazine which named Jones one of the top fifteen black preachers in America (1984); honorary degrees included a Doctor of Humanities degree from the University of Kentucky; and the New York Urban League honored him with the Frederick Douglass Award in 1972. In addition, Jones was awarded many other citations and proclamations. Reverend William Augustus Jones, Jr., was referred to as “the trumpet.” His inspirational sermons were heard not only in Brooklyn but around the country and on every continent. Although preaching the gospel was his forte, he believed that improving economic conditions for the black community was equally important and he was always actively involved in many civil and human rights movements.
Reverend Dr. William Augustus Jones, Jr., died in Brooklyn, New York, on February 4, 2006. His survivors included wife Natalie of Brooklyn; four children; three brothers; two sisters; and eight grandchildren.
Extent
53 Linear Feet (64 archival boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Collection Outline
Sub-Group I: Bethany Baptist Church
- Series 1: Bethany Baptist Church /Bulletins, Fliers, Programs, Harvest Manor
- Series 2: Bethany Baptist Church /Contractors for the New Church
- Series 3: Correspondence, Special Interest and General Correspondence
- Series 4: General Files / Press Releases, Syllabi, Telegrams, etc.
- Series 5: General Files / Publications (Religious)
- Series 6: Writings / Handwritten notes, Notebooks with sermon topics
- Series 7: Writings / Date calendars, sermon topics, commentaries
- Series 8: Writings / Reverend Jones’ thesis
- Series 9: Writings / Articles, speeches by others
- Series 10: Jones as Activist / A & P Boycott, Campaign for Brooklyn President, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, etc.
- Series 11: Memorabilia / Photographs, etc.
- Series 12: Personal Books of Rev. William A. Jones, Jr.
- Series 13: Memorabilia / Awards, Citations, Clippings, Honors, Plaques, Proclamations. Also see Oversized Boxes 58-61.
- Series14: Videotapes/ Audiotapes.
- Series 15: Newspaper Clippings: see oversized Box 57
- Series 16: Ephemera
- Series 16: Audio Files
- Series 17: Video Files
Sub-group and Series Descriptions
Sub-Group I: Bethany Baptist Church
- Dates: Inclusive: 1920-1980
- Bulk: 1970-1980
- Extent: 4 boxes; 1.7 linear feet
- Arrangement: Miscellaneous
- This series contains souvenir journals, bulletins, concert fliers, programs, publications, anniversary celebrations, dinner journals, and historical mortgage-related items. In addition, there is a box of material on Harvest Manor Dining Center and a self-help project that Bethany Baptist Church created on April 23, 1983.
- Dates: Inclusive: 1970-1980
- Bulk: 1970-1980
- Extent: 3 boxes; 1.25 linear feet
- Arrangement: Miscellaneous by contractor
- This series has selected invoices and architectural plans for building of the new Bethany Baptist Church. Materials in this series contain information from the stained glass windows in the church to the pipe organ.
- Dates: Inclusive: 1950-1990
- Bulk: 1960-1980
- Extent: 3 boxes; 1.25 linear feet
- Arrangement: Chronological
- This series contains correspondence received from President Bill Clinton, President Jimmy Carter, Rev. Jerry Falwell, Rev. Ralph Abernathy and many religious organizations, colleges, individuals, and churches.
- Dates: Inclusive: 1960-2000
- Bulk: 1960-1978
- Extent: 1 box; .42 linear feet
- Arrangement: Miscellaneous
- This series contains items such as commencement and graduation exercises, invitations, press releases, syllabi, telegrams, and other miscellaneous items.
- Dates: Inclusive: 1970-1990
- Bulk: 1970-1980
- Extent: 2 boxes; .85 linear feet
- Arrangement: Alphabetical arrangement by title of publication.
- This series contains religious publications. There are folders on “Baptist Progress,” brochures and bulletins, and other religious publications.
- Dates: Inclusive: 1960-2001
- Bulk: 1960-1980
- Extent: 5 boxes; 2.1 linear feet
- Arrangement: Arrangement varies.
- Series contains handwritten notes, filed in miscellaneous specific order, as well as boxes of notebooks that have handwritten notes on various topics for Rev. Jones’ weekly Sunday sermons.
- Dates: Inclusive: 1960-1970
- Bulk: 1960
- Extent: 2 boxes; .85 linear feet
- Arrangement: Arrangement varies.
- This series has date calendars, small datebooks, a pastor’s manual, personal planner (2002) and sermon topics (typed) on specific biblical passages.
- Dates: Inclusive: 1975
- Bulk: 1975
- Extent: 2 boxes; .85 linear feet
- Arrangement: Arrangement varies.
- Reverend Jones’ thesis can be found here. It is titled The Gospel and the Ghetto. There is the typescript as well as two copies of the final bound version, a review of the book, and the book jacket. This series also contains an autobiography of Rev. Jones.
- Dates: Inclusive: 1960-1970
- Bulk: 1960’s
- Extent: 1 boxes; .45 linear feet
- Arrangement: Arrangement varies.
- This series contains articles and speeches by others. They include the Rev. Martin Luther King’s address at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta on Dec. 4, 1967, Bayard Rustin’s article on “The Lessons of the Long Hot Summer,” Benjamin Ward’s “Minorities in Correction” (1987), and speeches by several other individuals.
- Dates: Inclusive: 1960-1980
- Bulk: 1960-1970
- Extent: 2 boxes; .85 linear feet
- Arrangement: Arrangement varies.
- The contents of this series demonstrate Reverend Jones’ social activism and his involvement in programs and organizations that helped the black community. There is a folder covering the boycott he led against the Atlantic and Pacific food grocery chain for discriminating against blacks, and the Coca-Cola script he received in 1971. There are also materials relating to Operation Breadbasket.
In addition included here are Jones as a candidate for Brooklyn Borough President in 1969, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, and the Southern Leadership Conference
- Dates: 1960s-2000
- Extent: 5 Boxes; 2.1 linear feet
- Arrangement: varies
- Here are photographs of Rev. Jones with friends and/or family. There are large photos; some smaller ones, a number of black and white images, and others that are in color. This series also contains memorabilia from the Jones family, and a poem reflecting Jones’ 35 years at Bethany Baptist Church. An obituary of Rev. Jones and his parents, tributes to Rev. Jones and dismantled scrapbooks can also be found with this series.
- Dates: 1847-1996
- Extent: 4 Boxes; 1.7 linear feet
- Arrangement: Miscellaneous
-
This series has Rev. Jones’ personal books. There are several Bibles, books about the struggle of Blacks in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and one book, “My Soul’s Been Anchored” at has a forward with a message from Maya Angelou.
- Dates: 1992-1999
- Extent: 3 Boxes; 1.25 linear feet
- Arrangement: Varies
- This series has awards, citations, honors, plaques, and proclamations that Rev. Jones received during his lifetime. They came from numerous organizations, both public and private. There are also several personal items; a drawing, a wooden cross, a silver cup, and a figurine. There is a CD of photographs of other personal objects not found in this collection.
- Dates: 1960s-2000s
- Extent: 19 boxes; 24 linear feet
- Arrangement: Miscellaneous
- Most of the audiotapes were made by Rev. Jones for The Bethany Hour which was broadcast nationwide on the radio. This series contains only media; some are VHS, DVD and others are the reel to reel tapes. In addition to the Bethany Hour, they also cover other events.
- Dates: 1970s-1980s
- Extent: 1 Box / 1.6 linear feet
- Arrangement: General Subjects
- Arrangement by general subjects. This oversized box contains large news clippings covering Jones and the A&P strike; Rev. Jones as an Activist; and Rev. Jones as a minister.
- Dates: 1959-2005
- Extent: 7 Boxes / 11.7 linear feet
- Arrangement: Varies
- These oversized materials are numerous awards, Certificates, and Proclamation that Rev. Jones received during his life time of work. Oversized Boxes 59-63 contain several of these awards presented to him. Also contained here are oversized photos of the new Bethany Church, drawings of the light fixtures; enlarged news clipping of the Church opening the restaurant; Rev. Jones and his family; a trip to Haiti; and other events.
- Dates: 1959-2005
- Extent: 1100 wav files
- Arrangement: Varies
- This is a list of audio files that were digitized from the reel to reel tapes and audio cassettes found in series 14 of this collection. Each file contains a link to the recording online.
- Dates: 1990s-2003
- Extent: 64 Mov files
- Arrangement: Varies
- This is a list of video files that were digitized from the VHS tapes found in series 14 of this collection. Each file contains a link to the recording online.
Audio and Visual Materials
The Brooklyn College Library's Archives and Special Collections department has digitized the audio and video sermons found in this collection. These can be accessed online here: The Sermons of Reverend William Augustus Jones Jr.
- African American preaching Subject Source: Library Of Congress Subject Headings
- African Americans -- Religion Subject Source: Library Of Congress Subject Headings
- Preaching Subject Source: Library Of Congress Subject Headings
- Race relations -- Religious aspects -- Christianity Subject Source: Library Of Congress Subject Headings
- Sermons, American -- African American authors Subject Source: Library Of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- The Papers of Reverend Dr. William Augustus Jones, Jr.
- Author
- Finding aid written by Edythe Rosenblatt, updated by Pamela Kerns
- Date
- © 2007 Brooklyn College Archives and Special Collections
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Brooklyn College Archives and Special Collections Repository
