Jerry Jones

A native of Glade Spring, Jones grew up in southwestern Virginia during the era of segregation.  He was bused to an all-black high school in Bristol where he graduated in 1965. His bachelor’s and master’s degrees are from the historically-black Virginia State University in Petersburg. His first teaching job in 1969 was that of a high school business instructor in Baltimore, Maryland.  From 1974 until 2001, he taught computer courses  at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia.  At Emory & Henry since 2001, his duties include the following:

• coordinates the computer proficiency exams
• teaches the computer literacy courses (CIMT)
• serves as a freshman advisor
• teaches the Transitions I (ETLA) class [topic:  Racial identity in Context]

In the 1980s, Jones published a college textbook entitled Structured Programming Logic (Prentice-Hall, 1985). In 2011, he completed Go and Come Again—Segregation, Tolerance and Reflection, a book which detailed the history and culture of a small Virginia town during the era of the Jim Crow mindset. With nearly fifty years as a teacher, Jones wrote his book as a tribute to the struggles that many African Americans faced in their pursuit of an education.

A musician for nearly 60 years, Jones has played piano at numerous area churches, events on the campus of Emory & Henry, and events sponsored by Abingdon’s Highlands Festival; his specialty is gospel and other church music. Additionally, he is a certified lay speaker in the Methodist church, a former member of the Glade Spring town council, chair of a Virginia Highlands Community College advisory board, local African-American historian, and organizer of various civic and church events.

Jerry L. Jones has an author page on Amazon.com.