45^th Anniversary of the Tragedy of Jonestown 

By Steven N. Larkin

On November 18, 1978, an inexplicable act of evil occurred in the remote Jungles of Guyana, South America, resulting in the deaths of 913 people; including 276 children, 40 of them infants.

It is never too late in life or in the day to correct a right or a wrong for justice. The mass grave where many of the innocent victims are buried right now has a plaque with the name “Jim Jones.”

Dr. Jynona Norwood and the staff of the Jonestown Memorial Wall project, is calling for the name of Jim Jones to immediately be removed from the gravesite.

On Saturday, November 18, the family of victims, led by Dr.  Norwood will hold an anniversary ceremony at Evergreen Cemetery, 6459 Camden St. Oakland, CA at 11:00 am.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee said, “The Jonestown Massacre was a senseless, horrible tragedy, born of the evil of one man, that took the lives of nearly 1,000 innocent people – many African American and many from the Bay area.

“As a member of Congressman Ron Dellums’ staff, I handled many cases of family members who were concerned about their loved ones in Jonestown. I was invited to go to Jonestown with the late Congressman Leo Ryan and a member of his staff, my good friend former Congresswoman Jackie Speier, but at the last minute had a family obligation that could not be missed.”

She continued, “As we know now, Congresswoman Speier and several others were injured or killed on that day. The lives of those lost should be honored in our community to promote collective healing. May we never forget their lives and continue to fight all injustices to ensure anything like this tragedy never happens again.”

I also had the opportunity to visit with Dr. Amos Brown, Pastor Third Street Baptist Church in San Francisco recently, to listen to his reflection of the time and the spirit of the Bay area community that Jim Jones was able to bamboozle.

“You have to remember during that time there was a void in the Black Church in the area. Jones had systematically targeted the largest Black Churches and would always show up with a smile.”

Rev. Brown’s first view of Jones was simple.

“The man never would take off his shades! Something didn’t quite smell right. He would always offer help to the masses with food banks, set up temporary tents to pay utility bills, and bring loads of money to pay rent for the needy.”

However, according to Rev. Brown, that was a planned strategy to build his own cult.

Dr. Brown continued, “There is good religion and bad religion. Jones was a man full of bad religion. One must always be mindful of bad and be able to recognize the trickery of bad religion.

Dr. Norwood and other relatives of the victims of Jonestown are asking for help in their efforts to remove Jim Jones’ name from the gravesite and to build a fitting Memorial Wall to celebrate the innocent lives senselessly lost.

To reach out to the Jonestown Memorial Wall staff:  PO Box 3330 • Hollywood , CA. 90078 •  www.JonestownOfficialMemorial.org