Background
Jones was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Mary Elisabeth Jones and the Doctor William Augustus Jones, Senior His life began as medical miracle, since he was not expected to be born alive because of a traumatic childbirth.
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William William Augustus Jones
Edit ProfileEducation
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
Career
Reflecting upon the story of his birth, Jones once said: "All of my days have been lived with the feeling that divine providence has upheld, sustained and directed my destiny."
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 was known for his outspokenness, making controversial statements and being involved in controversial causes in the New York area.
Jones became a mentor to Sharpton and eventually converted him to the Baptist denomination.
He had a 5,000-member church in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and hosted a syndicated weekly radio program called Bethany Hour. In 1979, he published a book entitled God in the Ghetto.
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Born
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Died
February 4, 2006 (aged 71) -
Nationality
African-American