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The Norman E. Jones Papers
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Introduction and Provenance
The Norman E. Jones Papers consist of three document boxes of manuscript copies of newspaper columns, miscellaneous projects and proposals, correspondence, and photocopies of newspaper articles by and about Mr. Jones. Forty audiotapes are also included in this collection. Norman E. Jones II, his son and a local member of the arts and cultural community, donated these materials to the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library in April 2001.Restrictions/Preservation Note
Please report any tears or other damage so library staff may take appropriate preservation or conservation measures. While no restrictions limit access to these materials, library staff will evaluate photocopying requests on an individual basis to ensure the long-term preservation of this unique collection.
Biographical Note
Mr. Jones was born in Lawrence, Kansas, on 17 November 1909. He moved to Kansas City, Missouri, as a young child, where he attended Lincoln High School and Lincoln Junior College. He also studied photography with Warren B. Harrison. He later attended Henderson Business College in Memphis, Tennessee. After living in nearly forty different U.S. cities, he moved to Tampa in 1950. He later settled in St. Petersburg in 1955, where he lived until his death on 13 August 1990. He was survived by his widow, Mary Brayboy Jones; a son, Norman E. Jones; a daughter, Elizabeth Jones; a step-daughter, Ossie B. Robinson-Shaw; and a stepson, Elihu Brayboy, Jr.
A photographer, publicist, and journalist, Mr. Jones worked as Florida Editor for the Pittsburgh Courier and edited the African American pages of the St. Petersburg Times and St. Petersburg Evening Independent. For almost twenty years, beginning in 1956, he contributed a column entitled "Let's Talk Politics" to various black newspapers throughout Florida. He also produced his own radio program on two Tampa stations, and WTOG, Channel 44, televised the "Norman E. Jones Show." Until his health failed in the 1970s, he ran an advertising and public relations business in St. Petersburg. Active in politics for over fifty years, Jones became a supporter of George Wallace's presidential campaign and served as Chairman of the National Black Citizens Committee for Wallace in 1972. (Some materials in his personal archives related to Wallace were previously donated to the University of Alabama.) His controversial work for the Wallace campaign grew out his life-long political philosophy, here summarized by his son:
My Father's will is to build and rebuild, the Black Communities
throughout the Nation, through active participation, by utilizing
the cry of self-determination. He wants to preserve the origin,
growth, and identity of African American Educational, Commercial,
Cultural, Religious, Fraternal, Recreational, Professional, Social,
and Sports Institutions in America. It is his desire to work within the
established Free-Enterprise System to attain our collective goals.
He talked about giving the people a vehicle to express their culture.
He felt the need to develop Thrift and engage in productive
occupations; and to a greater degree, become job creators.
(Norman E. Jones II, The Ohio State University, 1981-1982)Scope and Contents Note
Materials in this collection occupy 3.25 linear feet and consist of papers, photographs, ephemera, and audiocassette recordings. In addition, a videotape of the reception honoring Mr. Jones is available for researchers.
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