The Reverend Richard R. Jones (1853 – 1921) was a noted African-American Baptist minister, civil rights activist and orator in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

Early life

Richard Jones was born into slavery to his parents, William and Mary Jones, who were both owned by Matthew Pedigue of

Botetourt County, Virginia Botetourt County ( ) is a US county that lies in the Roanoke Region of Virginia. Located in the mountainous portion of the state, the county is bordered by two major ranges, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains. Botetourt C ...

. After the Civil War, he went to West Virginia, he experienced a religious conversion and a call to preach. He returned to Virginia and was baptized in

Bedford County, Virginia Bedford County is a county (United States), United States county located in the Piedmont region of Virginia, Piedmont region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is the town of Bedford, Virginia, Bedford, ...

, where he also entered public school to learn how to read. While in Bedford County, he preached at the

Bunker Hill Baptist Church A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

, and the Western Light Baptist Church and the Shady Grove Baptist Church, and to found the Piney Grove Baptist Church. In 1884 he married Lelia Leftwich of Bedford County.

First Baptist Church

In 1882 he moved to Roanoke to help start the

First Baptist Church First Baptist Church may refer to: Canada *First Baptist Church (Toronto), Ontario *First Baptist Church (Ottawa), Ontario * First Baptist Church (Halifax), Nova Scotia, involved in the founding of Acadia University United States Alabama *First ...

. An aggressive and passionate speaker, he worked with the congregation to raise funds for the church building and parsonage, and became its first pastor. "Born a slave in 1853, Reverend Richard R. Jones came to Roanoke in 1882 to head First Baptist Church. When completed in 1903 under exacting direction of Rev. Jones, the new First Baptist Church housed the largest black congregation west of Richmond. In 1901, the

Roanoke Times ''The Roanoke Times'' is the primary newspaper in Southwestern Virginia and is based in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It is published by Lee Enterprises. In addition to its headquarters in Roanoke, it maintains a bureau in Christiansburg, ...

condemned the outspoken ministry of Rev. Jones for disrupting "essential harmony between blacks and whites." In 1904, a white mob of men and boys forced Rev. Jones to flee Roanoke, never to return."

Exile and death

When a white woman in Roanoke was attacked by a black man, tensions ran high. The Rev. Jones preached that whites were not superior to blacks, and in anger, a large mob of whites attacked his home on February 5, 1904, threatening him and his family. Forced out of his home in Roanoke, Virginia, he fled by train to Washington, DC, then to

Homestead, Pennsylvania Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Monongahela River southeast of downtown Pittsburgh. The borough is known for the Homestead strike of 1892, an important event in the history of labor relation ...

. There he began a $30,000.00 lawsuit against the town of Roanoke and the city police.Bluefield Daily Telegram
Bluefield, West Virginia. March 4, 1905. Page 1. He subsequently died in Homestead and is buried in the Homestead Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, next to his wife who later died in 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Richard R. 1853 births 1921 deaths People from Roanoke, Virginia People from Bedford County, Virginia Activists for African-American civil rights African-American activists African-American Baptist ministers People from Homestead, Pennsylvania Baptists from Virginia Activists from Virginia 19th-century Baptist ministers from the United States 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States