Barbara Ann Posey Jones facts for kids

Barbara Ann Posey Jones (born 1943) is an American leader and teacher. As a teenager, she helped lead important protests called "sit-ins" to fight for equal rights. Later, she became a professor and a dean at several universities. She taught about economics, which is the study of how money, goods, and services are made and used.

In 2021, she received a special award for her work in social justice. In 2024, the University of Oklahoma gave her an honorary degree. This award recognized her brave actions in the sit-ins. Her efforts helped end segregation in many public places across the country. Segregation was when people of different races were kept separate.

Early Life and Fighting for Rights

Barbara Ann Posey Jones joined the youth group of the NAACP when she was just 14 years old. The NAACP is an organization that works for the rights of Black people. On a trip to New York City, she ate at a lunch counter for the very first time. At that time, many lunch counters in her home state of Oklahoma did not allow Black people to eat there.

When she returned home, Barbara became a key spokesperson for the Oklahoma City lunch counter sit-ins. These were peaceful protests that took place from 1958 to 1959. Young people would sit at "whites-only" lunch counters to protest unfair rules.

Her brave actions were recognized in many ways. In 1958, she was named "Girl of the Year." In 1960, she wrote an article called "Why I Sit In" for Datebook magazine. She also gave a speech called "My America" at a big NAACP meeting.

Education and Career

Barbara Ann Posey Jones studied hard and earned several degrees. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1963. Then, she earned a master's degree in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1966. While studying there, she met her future husband, Mack Jones, at an NAACP meeting. She later earned her PhD in economics from Georgia State University in 1973.

After finishing her studies, Dr. Jones began her career as an economics professor. She taught at several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). These are colleges and universities that were first created to educate Black students.

She taught at Clark College from 1971 to 1987. She even became the head of the economics department there. She won many awards for her teaching.

In 1987, she moved to Prairie View A&M. She became the head of the economics department and then the Dean of the College of Business. A dean is a leader in a college or university. She held this role from 1989 to 1997.

Later, in 1997, she became the Dean of the School of Business at Alabama A&M University. She continued to teach economics there until she retired in 2016. Dr. Jones also served as the president of the National Economic Association. This shows her important role in the field of economics.