Robert Elijah Jones

Robert E. Jones was born on February 19, 1872 in Greensboro, North Carolina. His parents were Sidney Dallas and Jane (Holley) Jones. Siblings were Minnie Arleta, Jessie and David Dallas.[1]

In 1920, Jones along with Matthew W. Clair became the first black bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church. However, they were elected on separate ballots and presided over all-black churches.[2] Jones was also the first black to serve as a general superintendent of the entire church. Previously blacks were only allowed to serve in a missionary capacity.[3]

He helped found a Methodist retreat, Gulfside Assembly, in Waveland, Mississippi for African-Americans. Gulfside Assembly was the only place in the United States where African-Americans had access to the Gulf of Mexico for vacationing and recreational purposes.[3]

In the late 1930s, Bishop Jones participated in a unification movement that attempted to integrate the black and white members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Unfortunately, because of strong opposition in the South, the Church decided instead to create a separate jurisdiction for blacks, called the Central Jurisdiction. The first General Conference of the new Central Jurisdiction met in St. Louis, Missouri from June 18 to 23, 1940.[2]

Bishop Jones died on Wednesday, May 18, 1960 in a New Orleans hospital. He was buried at Gulfside Assembly on Monday, May 23, 1960.[3]

The Methodists would not begin formal integration of the black and white churches until the mid-1960s. By 1972, all of the Conferences of the Central Jurisdiction had been merged into white Conferences.[2]

• List of Bishops of the United Methodist Church

• Yenser, Thomas (editor), Who's Who in Colored America: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Persons of African Descent in America, Who's Who in Colored America, Brooklyn, New York, 1930-1931-1932 (Third Edition)