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Size | 2.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1820 items) |
Abstract | Charles Miles Jones, Christian minister and social justice activist, spent the majority of his ecclesiastical career in Chapel Hill, N.C., at the head of the Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church and then as the first minister of the Community Church. The collection includes correspondence, church documents and publications, clippings, and other items reflecting Jones's ministry and concern for civil rights. Materials generally focus on his public rather than personal life with a special emphasis on the 1952-1953 investigation of his Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church ministry. General correspondence includes letters from supporters (among them Frank Porter Graham) and detractors, commenting on the investigation, Jones's sermons, and several well-publicized actions in support of social justice causes. Also included is official correspondence of the investigation and formal documentation of the proceedings, as well as scattered church newsletters, copies of a 1945 petition to remove Jones and the elders' rejection of it, and other items. The Community Church period is chiefly represented by financial and administrative materials, while Jones's activist role is reflected in pamphlets, official correspondence, and Fellowship of Southern Churchmen documents. Among the materials on Jones's activism are several items relating to his involvement in the 1947 "Journey of Reconciliation" (or "Freedom Ride"), including "We Challenged JIM CROW!" a pamphlet by George House and Bayard Rustin; a handwritten account of Jones's involvement; photocopies of court transcripts; and notes. Other papers consist mainly of clippings, honors accorded Jones, memorials upon his death, and materials relating to the published biography of him written by grandson Mark Pryor. The Addition of 2011 consists of reel-to-reel audiotapes of sermons and speeches by Jones and others, a speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Nashville, Tenn., 28 December 1962., and several recordings of Martin Luther King Speaks, a radio program aired by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1967 to the early 1980s. |
Creator | Jones, Charles Miles, 1906-1993. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Jessica Tyree, October 2004; Amanda Loeb, September 2014
Encoded by: Jessica Tyree, October 2004; Amanda Loeb, September 2014
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Charles Miles Jones, a Christian minister and social justice activist, was born 8 January 1906 in Nashville, Tenn. He studied at Maryville College near Knoxville, Tenn., 1924-1927, and at Columbia University in New York for one summer, but did not complete his undergraduate degree. He then spent just over a year running a cafe in Texas with his father.
In 1929, Jones entered Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Va., planning to pursue a career in church choir work. By the time of his graduation in 1932, he had decided to become a minister instead. Shortly before relocating to lead the Presbyterian church in Gordonsville, Va., he married Dorcas McKinney on 21 November 1932. They would later adopt a daughter, Mary, and have two more daughters, Bettie Miles, or "Beppie," and Virginia, also called "Pooh."
Jones pastored churches in Keswick, Va., and Brevard, N.C., before taking over the ministry of the Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, N.C., in 1941. Although Jones was generally a popular figure, his social justice-focused sermons, welcoming of African Americans to services and meetings, and de-emphasizing of certain elements of Presbyterian doctrine created rifts in the congregation. A 1945 petition for his removal was turned down by the elders. Jones's direct involvement in civil rights activities further polarized his parishioners and other members of the Chapel Hill community. Most notably, Jones played a pivotal role in the Chapel Hill leg of the 1947 "Journey of Reconciliation" (also known as the first "Freedom Ride"), a journey by an interracial group committed to testing the 1946 United States Supreme Court's decision in Morgan versus Commonwealth of Virginia that said that state laws relating to segregation on interstate buses were unconstitutional. In 1952, another petition to the regional governing body of the church brought an investigation and subsequent repeated demands that Jones resign, which he did in 1953.
That year, Jones and a number of supporters formed the Community Church in Chapel Hill with a stated focus on "unity in Christian essentials, liberty in non-essentials, and charity in all things." His activism on behalf of causes such as desegregation of local businesses and labor rights, and against opponents like the Ku Klux Klan intensified during the 1950s and 1960s, both individually and as a member of groups including the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen.
After 14 years heading the Community Church, Charles Jones retired from the ministry in 1967, returning to the restaurant business until 1974. He died 6 April 1993.
Back to TopThe collection includes correspondence, church documents and publications, clippings, and other items reflecting Charles Miles Jones's work as a Presbyterian minister and concern for civil rights. Materials generally focus on his public rather than personal life with a special emphasis on the 1952-1953 investigation of his Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church ministry. General correspondence includes letters from supporters (among them Frank Porter Graham) and detractors, commenting on the investigation, Jones's sermons, and several well-publicized actions in support of social justice causes. Also included is official correspondence of the investigation and formal documentation of the proceedings, as well as scattered church newsletters, copies of a 1945 petition to remove Jones and the elders' rejection of it, and other items. His work as minister of the Community Church in Chapel Hill, N.C., is chiefly represented by financial and administrative materials, while Jones's activist role is reflected in pamphlets, official correspondence, and Fellowship of Southern Churchmen documents. Among the materials on Jones's activism are several items relating to his involvement in the 1947 "Journey of Reconciliation" (or "Freedom Ride"), including "We Challenged JIM CROW!" a pamphlet by George House and Bayard Rustin; a handwritten account of Jones's involvement; photocopies of court transcripts; and notes. Other papers consist mainly of clippings, honors accorded Jones, memorials upon his death, and materials relating to the published biography of him written by grandson Mark Pryor. The Addition of 2011 consists of reel-to-reel audiotapes of sermons and speeches by Jones and others, a speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Nashville, Tenn., 28 December 1962., and several recordings of Martin Luther King Speaks, a radio program aired by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference from 1967 to the early 1980s.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Correspondence focuses mainly on Charles Jones's public rather than personal life. He frequently received letters from church members and visitors offering opinions on recent sermons or his ministry in general. Other letters, both of support and criticism, followed several controversial incidents, including his aid of two men challenging Jim Crow laws in 1947 and his comments on interracial marriage, made at the Greensboro (N.C.) Human Relations Institute in 1963. Copies of Jones's responses to many of these letters are also present. Most correspondence comes from the period of the 1952-1953 investigation, and contains references to the ongoing conflict between the minister and the regional governing body of the church, Orange Presbytery. However, official correspondence of the proceedings is interfiled with the investigation materials in Series 2. Other official correspondence, related to Jones's activist work, can be found in Series 4.
Folder 1 |
1941-1944 |
Folder 2 |
1945-1951 |
Folder 3 |
1952 |
Folder 4-14
Folder 4Folder 5Folder 6Folder 7Folder 8Folder 9Folder 10Folder 11Folder 12Folder 13Folder 14 |
1953 |
Folder 15 |
1954-1957 |
Folder 16-17
Folder 16Folder 17 |
February-April 1963 |
Folder 18 |
1965-1989 |
Folder 19 |
Undated |
Items include scattered programs and newsletters, both of the general congregation and the "Snuffbuckets," a group of University of North Carolina students who attended the church; materials pertaining to the controversy over a picnic, 1944, attended by some church youth and members of an African American military band; and copies of the 1945 petition for Jones's removal from the pulpit and the elders' response. The bulk of materials issues from the 1952-1953 inquiry that led to Jones's resignation. These include official correspondence; the initial judicial commission report; a transcript of the commission's interview with Jones; motions of support for the minister from church members, including University of North Carolina President Frank Porter Graham; and a lengthy complaint from the Jones contingent on the conduct of the investigation. A collection of five interviews of unknown origin, one undated and the others conducted in 1971-1972, cover various aspects of the 1952-1953 conflict from the point of view of several participants, including a member of the judicial commission.
Folder 20 |
Programs and newsletters |
Folder 21 |
Snuffbuckets |
Folder 22 |
1944 picnic incident |
Folder 23 |
1945 removal attempt |
Folder 24-28
Folder 24Folder 25Folder 26Folder 27Folder 28 |
Investigation and resignation |
Folder 29 |
Retrospective interviews |
Folder 30 |
Miscellaneous |
Most of the materials collected from Charles Jones's participation in the formation and leadership of the Community Church in Chapel Hill, N.C., are financial and administrative in nature, including budget considerations for a building project and memoranda regarding officer elections. The handful of programs includes one inscribed by University of North Carolina School of Journalism faculty member Charles Phillips Russell, questioning the Christian slant of the church's mission statement. Jones's 1967 retirement from the ministry is reflected in draft and final copies of his farewell message to the congregation and items pertaining to the search for his successor.
Folder 31 |
Financial and administrative materials |
Folder 32 |
Programs |
Folder 33 |
Retirement |
Folder 34 |
Miscellaneous |
Items relate chiefly to Charles Jones's civil rights activism, with little information on his work on other social justice causes, such as labor rights. Of note are materials on Jones's activism are several items relating to his involvement in the 1947 "Journey of Reconciliation" (or "Freedom Ride"), including "We Challenged JIM CROW!" a pamphlet by George House and Bayard Rustin; a handwritten account of Jones's involvement; photocopies of court transcripts; and notes. Other incidents represented include Jones's aid of two men challenging Jim Crow laws at a Chapel Hill, N.C., bus station, 1947; work investigating White Citizens Council threats towards a progressive pair of agricultural workers in Holmes County, Miss., 1955, and Ku Klux Klan interference with a mixed-race painting project at an Elm City, N.C., church, 1964; picketing of local segregated businesses; and membership in the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen.
Folder 35 |
Bus incident ("Journey of Reconciliation"), 1947 |
Folder 36 |
Holmes County, Miss., 1955 |
Folder 37 |
Elm City, N.C., 1964 |
Folder 38 |
Desegregation of local businesses |
Folder 39-44
Folder 39Folder 40Folder 41Folder 42Folder 43Folder 44 |
Fellowship of Southern Churchmen |
Folder 45 |
Miscellaneous |
Other papers consist chiefly of clippings, which are divided by decade. The Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church investigation, 1952-1953, and Jones's subsequent resignation are the most heavily-represented topics, but there is also substantial coverage of civil rights-related incidents, most of which directly involved Jones; other causes he was interested in, such as the high cost of funerals; and his resignation from the ministry, 1967. Jones also kept typed copies of press coverage, 1940s-1960s, dealing further with civil rights matters in which he was a participant. Awards and honors include the establishment of the Charles M. Jones Award by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro (N.C.) branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. A small group of papers reflect the efforts, eventually successful, of Jones's grandson, Mark Pryor, to publish a biography of him. Fragments of autobiographical reminiscences and a copy of Jones's Maryville College transcript, 1924-1927, are also included.
Folder 46 |
Awards and honors |
Folder 47 |
Clippings, 1940s |
Folder 48-53
Folder 48Folder 49Folder 50Folder 51Folder 52Folder 53 |
Clippings, 1950s |
Folder 54-56
Folder 54Folder 55Folder 56 |
Clippings, 1960s |
Folder 57 |
Clippings, 1970s-1990s |
Folder 58-60
Folder 58Folder 59Folder 60 |
Typed copies of press coverage |
Folder 61 |
Death and memorial |
Folder 62 |
Jones biography |
Folder 63 |
Miscellaneous |
RESTRICTION: Use of audiotapes may require production of listening copies.
Processing information: Titles and dates have been transcribed from the original audiotape labels. Unlabeled tapes contain descriptions provided by processor. Audiotapes T-05168/21-23 were added to the finding aid in February 2018.
Audio recordings of sermons, speeches, and reports by Charles Miles Jones and others. Recordings include a speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Nashville, Tenn., 28 December 1962. There are several recordings of Martin Luther King Speaks, a thirty minute weekly radio program aired by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference beginning in 1967, and continuing after King's assassination in 1968 and into the early 1980s.
Audiotapes (T-05168/1-23)
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