James Robertson "Bob" Jones (July 26, 1929 – April 16, 1989) was an American

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

political activist who was active in the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

in the 1950s and 1960s. He was

Grand Dragon Ku Klux Klan (KKK) nomenclature has evolved over the order's nearly 160 years of existence. The titles and designations were first laid out in the original Klan's prescripts of 1867 and 1868, then revamped with William J. Simmons's ''Kloran'' of 1 ...

of the North Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan from 1963 until 1969, when he was sent to prison for

contempt of Congress Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a U.S. senator or U.S. representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, contempt of Co ...

Early life

Jones was born on July 26, 1929, in

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropolita ...

. His father was a railroad worker and had been a member of the

, an American

organization, in the 1920s. His mother was in the Klan's Ladies Auxiliary. After dropping out of high school, Jones enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. He was discharged after refusing to salute a black officer. He subsequently worked in various jobs, including as a bricklayer and salesman for

lightning rod A lightning rod or lightning conductor (British English) is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducte ...

Klan leadership

Jones joined the

U.S. Klans The U.S. Klans, officially, the U.S. Klans, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Inc. was the dominant Ku Klux Klan in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The death of its leader in 1960, along with increased factionalism, splits and competition from other gr ...

organization in 1954, but later quit and joined the rival

United Klans of America The United Klans of America Inc. (UKA), based in Alabama, is a Ku Klux Klan organization active in the United States. Led by Robert Shelton, the UKA peaked in membership in the late 1960s and 1970s,Abby Ferber. '' White Man Falling: Race, Gender, ...

. In August 1963, Jones was elected as the Grand Dragon of the North Carolina state chapter of the United Klans of America. By 1965, the chapter claimed to have 12,000 members, the largest membership of any state Klan chapter. On October 20, 1965, Jones was summoned before the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

as part of its investigation of Klan activity. He was questioned about Klan activities and alleged financial fraud in his operation of the Klan chapter. He declined to answer or provide Klan records that had been subpoenaed. The

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

voted to cite him for

. He was indicted, tried, convicted, and sentenced to a year in prison, plus a $1000 fine. He was released from prison in January 1970. In his absence, the North Carolina Klan had fragmented into multiple groups. Six hundred members remained in his chapter. Jones did not agree with decisions made by the new leadership, and he ceased to be active in the Klan.

Later life

After his release from prison, Jones returned to working as a lightning rod salesman, then later worked as a security guard. Jones died on April 16, 1989.

Early life

Klan leadership

Later life

References

Further reading