Jim Jones: Rise and Fall of Peoples Temple

Presenter: Jordan Nielsen

Co-Presenter(s):
Isaac Lopez, Jared Peters, Leslie Gissel

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 19-20

Semester: Spring

Department: Communication & Media Studies

Funding Source/Sponsor: SYRCE Symposium

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1t6b9IqmjeROxIH0cfg6kDuw9HxSil6hs

Abstract:
The People’s Temple and the tragedy at Jonestown has left a large imprint on American society lasting to this day. Many prominent political figures spoke about Jim Jones as an honest and genuine man. Jones would open soup kitchens to help struggling folks, hold daycares so parents could go to work to support their family, as well as drug counseling to help those who sought it out. Equal rights was foundational prerogative for Jones, and his support for equal rights connected him and his church to common issues of the time. In spite of Jones’ preaching on racial equality, few people of color would ascend high into the ranks of the Peoples Temple despite the congregation composing mostly of African Americans. Jones had an avid dislike for the capitalist system which is why he attempted to move his followers to the USSR before the massacre occurred. Jones’ first church was not seen as a cult but a legitimate place of worship. He quickly moved his congregation to Ukiah, believing that the United States would eventually be the target of a nuclear missile and they would be protected there. The settlement in Jonestown Guyana was, for the most part, exactly what Jones promised. Children were free to roam around and senior citizens were given many more luxuries, like gardens, compared to their lives back home. He promised parents that their children will have better access to education across the caribbean when the time comes around. The 909 people that died in Jonestown was the largest loss of American lives until the 9/11 attacks.