J. Charles Jones | |
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Born | Joseph Charles Jones August 23, 1937 Chester, South Carolina, U.S. |
Died | December 27, 2019 | (aged 82)
Cause of death | Sepsis caused from Alzheimer's disease |
Occupation(s) | Civil rights activist and leader |
Organization | Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (co-founder) |
Movement | Civil Rights Movement |
Joseph Charles Jones (August 23, 1937 – December 27, 2019) was an American civil rights leader and lawyer. He was the co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and chairperson of the SNCC's direct action committee.[1] Jones was born in Chester, South Carolina.[2]
He led and participated in several sit-in movements during the 1960s. He was chair of SNCC's direct action committee. In 1961 Jones joined the Freedom Riders driving from Atlanta, Georgia, to Birmingham, Alabama. He was later arrested in Montgomery, Alabama.
In 1966, Jones organized an activist organization called the Action Coordinating Committee to End Segregation in the Suburbs or ACCESS.[3]