Dr. Joseph Endom Jones, his wife, Rosa Daniel Kinckle Jones, and their son and co-founder of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Eugene Kinckle Jones, have an engraved tribute at Evergreen Cemetery.
It was reported that on May 20, community leaders and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity members stood together to honor the new tribute to the Joneses, who were considered trailblazers during the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement, NBC Lynchburg reported.
Dr. Joseph Endom Jones was born into slavery in Lynchburg to a blind mother. However, he did not let his circumstances hold him back. He received early education from another enslaved person and later on from a Confederate soldier. Dr. Jones went on to become a Department Head at the Richmond Institute, which is now known as Virginia Union University. He was one of the first Black men to receive a college education and a doctoral degree after slavery.
Dr. Jones was also a successful pastor at Bethesda Baptist Church in Petersburg, and a nationally recognized educator of newly freed slaves. During his time, historical references reveal that he installed more pastors than any other pastor in the U.S.
His wife, Rosa, was also an iconic figure in Richmond. She received a degree from Howard University and studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. Rosa became a nationally recognized music teacher at Hartshorn Memorial College, now a part of Virginia Union University.
During the ceremony, Eugene Kinckle Jones, the youngest son of Dr. and Mrs. Jones, was also honored for his societal contributions. Eugene was the longest-standing National Secretary for the National Urban League, an American service agency that works to eliminate racial segregation and discrimination.
Additionally, he was one of the seven founders of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the oldest Black Greek letter organization for Black men, established on Dec. 4, 1906, at Cornell University, ABC Richmond reported.
To commemorate the Jones family’s many contributions to society, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity members gathered at Evergreen Cemetery for a ceremony featuring a historical marker reveal titled “Trailblazers of a New Era” and remarks from Kevin Glover, President of the Virginia Association of Chapters of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
