Laura Jones Oral History

Object number2021.001.0031

Date05/13/2021

ClassificationsOral Histories

Oral history interview subject Laura Jones

Oral history interviewer Stephen Fagin

ObjectOral history

Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumBorn digital (.m2ts file), Born digital (.m4a file), Born digital (.mp4 file)

DimensionsDuration: 71 Minutes

Collections

DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Laura Jones. As a high school student, Jones observed the Kennedy funeral procession on Monday, November 25, 1963. She later joined the peace movement and protested the Vietnam War outside the White House. She was harassed by the FBI and ultimately arrested after she and her future husband moved to Canada to avoid his draft notice. Jones returned to the United States to participate in the Poor People's Campaign in 1968. She extensively photographed the Resurrection City encampment in Washington, D.C. Interview conducted over Zoom on May 13, 2021 by Curator Stephen Fagin. The interview is 1 hour and 11 minutes long.

Curatorial Commentary

In 1969, Laura Jones co-founded the Baldwin Street Gallery of Photography in Toronto, which operated in various physical locations through the end of the 1970s and is today an online showcase of Jones' photography of the 1960s and 1970s. To mark the 50th anniversary of the Poor People's Campaign in 2018, the gallery produced a short compilation of Jones' photography of Resurrection City, accompanied by her narration. This seven and a half minute video may be viewed on Vimeo: Poor People’s Campaign 1968: Resurrection City on Vimeo. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator