William Augustus Jones, Jr.

Reverend William Augustus Jones Jr. (24 February 1934—4 February 2006) was an African American minister and civil rights leader.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky. He graduated with honors in sociology from the University of Kentucky, though he could not play basketball because Blacks were then barred from the team.

He went on to earn a doctorate from Crozer Theological Seminary. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1954 as a private and was discharged in 1956 as a first lieutenant.

He joined the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1961 to split from conservative Baptists and form the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

He was known for his outspokenness, making controversial statements and being involved in controversial causes in the New York area. After by introduced to wonderboy preacher Al Sharpton by Pentecostal minister Bishop F.D. Washington, Jones became a mentor to Sharpton and eventually converted him to Baptist. [http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Al_Sharpton_speaks_out_on_race%2C_rights_and_what_bothers_him_about_his_critics Interview with Al Sharpton] , David Shankbone, "Wikinews", December 3, 2007.]

He had a 5,000-member church in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and hosted a syndicated weekly radio program called "Bethany Hour."

References

*Martin, Douglas (February 8, 2006). [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/nyregion/08jones.html The Rev. William A. Jones, Civil Rights Activist, Dies at 71.] "New York Times".

*Jackson, M.D.(December 23, 2006)

The life and Ministry of the Reverend Doctor William Augustus Jones, Jr.As recounted in part by Dr. Jones in his Spiritual Autobiography, 1972

William Augustus Jones, Jr. was born on Saturday February 24, 1934 in Louisville, Kentucky to Mary Elisabeth Jones and the Dr. William Augustus Jones, Sr. Not expected to be born alive because of a traumatic birth, his life began as medical miracle. Reflecting upon the story of his birth, Dr. Jones once said, “All of my days have been lived with the feeling that divine providence has upheld, sustained and directed my destiny.”