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Jim Jones, Jr. - Iconic Survivor
Some people called it one of the worst tragedies in history of the United States of America. Lifeless bodies were strewn across acres and acres of well cultivated land as well as the stench of death in the air.
Mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers had believed in the promise of a better life in Jonestown, Africa. Imagine arriving to the horrific crime scene and viewing family and friends who didn’t make it out alive. You search for friends and family that you grew up with and but yet you can’t locate them amid the hundreds that are around you lifeless.
Your search leads to your young pregnant wife, who ingested the tainted drink and as well as your mother and father. Jim Jones, Jr., knows all too well the story and the horrific outcome of what he found on that dreadful day.
His father, preacher-turned-paranoid dictator, Jim Jones, moved his flock, known as the Peoples Temple, from northern California to the jungles of Guyana. He created what he described as a self-sufficient paradise. Men, women and children of all races and backgrounds followed him.
Mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers had believed in the promise of a better life in Jonestown, Africa. Imagine arriving to the horrific crime scene and viewing family and friends who didn’t make it out alive. You search for friends and family that you grew up with and but yet you can’t locate them amid the hundreds that are around you lifeless.
Your search leads to your young pregnant wife, who ingested the tainted drink and as well as your mother and father. Jim Jones, Jr., knows all too well the story and the horrific outcome of what he found on that dreadful day.
His father, preacher-turned-paranoid dictator, Jim Jones, moved his flock, known as the Peoples Temple, from northern California to the jungles of Guyana. He created what he described as a self-sufficient paradise. Men, women and children of all races and backgrounds followed him.
Jim Jones, Jr. was adopted by Rev. Jim Jones and his wife and was immediately introduced to a life of diversity. He was the first nationally listed African American infant in Indiana to be adopted by a Caucasian couple and Jones states, “Growing up in the church saved my life.”
His family consisted of a melting pot of Asians and African Americans and Jones never seemed to notice that he was different, “I never knew I was Black until I became older. I thought everyone was just different shades of color”, he states.
Well into his teens, Jones love for basketball would prove to become a permanent part of his life as well as his survival. He would marry a beautiful member of his father’s flock. He was ecstatic about being a first time father. Eventually things would take a tragic turn and the outcome would produce more questions than answers. When more than 900 people died in Jonestown, the then-18-year-old Jones Jr. was playing in a basketball tournament in the city of Georgetown, Guyana.
"Playing basketball was a big thing for us," he said. "I had to convince my father to even let us build a basketball court at Jonestown. My father saw it as an act of rebellion.” Eventually the delusional Rev. Jones would oblige until Jim Jr. received a frantic SOS. "He then told us what was going on, and he asked us (the basketball team) to kill ourselves," Jones said. “We argued back and forth until my father lost contact with us. That was the last time I spoke to him.”
For years, Jim Jr. would be haunted with memories of those he lost as well as tremendous guilt of why He was one of a handful of survivors. He would eventually go on to marry and have a beautiful family. But the darkness that is connected to his name would challenge him. “I felt so much guilt and I numbed myself with drugs and alcohol,” exclaimed Jones. “My wife had to threaten to take my boys away for me to see the damage I was causing.”
Well into his teens, Jones love for basketball would prove to become a permanent part of his life as well as his survival. He would marry a beautiful member of his father’s flock. He was ecstatic about being a first time father. Eventually things would take a tragic turn and the outcome would produce more questions than answers. When more than 900 people died in Jonestown, the then-18-year-old Jones Jr. was playing in a basketball tournament in the city of Georgetown, Guyana.
"Playing basketball was a big thing for us," he said. "I had to convince my father to even let us build a basketball court at Jonestown. My father saw it as an act of rebellion.” Eventually the delusional Rev. Jones would oblige until Jim Jr. received a frantic SOS. "He then told us what was going on, and he asked us (the basketball team) to kill ourselves," Jones said. “We argued back and forth until my father lost contact with us. That was the last time I spoke to him.”
For years, Jim Jr. would be haunted with memories of those he lost as well as tremendous guilt of why He was one of a handful of survivors. He would eventually go on to marry and have a beautiful family. But the darkness that is connected to his name would challenge him. “I felt so much guilt and I numbed myself with drugs and alcohol,” exclaimed Jones. “My wife had to threaten to take my boys away for me to see the damage I was causing.”
These days Jones son is forging a name for himself on the basketball floor. In an interview from the St. Petersburg Times, his son Rob states, "My whole life, sitting around the living room, my dad would tell me stories about his childhood and my grandfather.” “My dad has had many struggles in my lifetime that I've seen from the aftershock of that event," states Rob, "He's been through some hard times and I have great respect for him.”
It is clear that Jones Jr. has escaped the demons of his past and accepted the history that is attached to his name. “For such a long time I was ashamed of basketball," Jones said. "But it did save my life. And it's a pleasure watching Rob excel, using basketball as a vessel. The irony is it saved my life and has become part of Rob's life as well. Basketball has been a special gift to me and Rob. And, because of basketball, the Jones name can be used for something positive, something good instead of what it had been remembered for."
It is clear that in this life only the strong survive. Here at Legends, Icons and Role Models, we Salute Jim Jones, Jr. for taking a stand and embracing his Future with without the threat of his past!
Jim Jones, Jr. is a ICON for Survival!!! WE SALUTE HIM!!
It is clear that in this life only the strong survive. Here at Legends, Icons and Role Models, we Salute Jim Jones, Jr. for taking a stand and embracing his Future with without the threat of his past!
Jim Jones, Jr. is a ICON for Survival!!! WE SALUTE HIM!!
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