For the Jones family, like many African American families in the middle decades of the twentieth century, education presented a path to social mobility. S. L. and Ida Mae Jones both graduated from Geeter High School, and they enrolled in continuing business education courses for most of their adult lives. They instilled a love of learning in their children and held high standards for academic achievement: college was an expectation, “not an option,” according to their daughter, Dorothy. As higher education and the opportunities it made available took S. L. and Ida Mae’s children outside of Memphis, the Jones family remained involved in the schools in their area. They sponsored academic scholarships through their church, assisted neighbors with their tuition, and maintained close connections to the schools in Boxtown and South Memphis. 

This collection contains photos and commemorations of graduations, grade school reunions, and alumni awards from the 1930s through the early 2000s. It also documents how the Joneses invested in education as a form of community building through the annual S. L. Jones Scholarship.