Ida E. Jones (historian) facts for kids
Ida E. Jones is an American historian and author, born in 1970. She works as the University Archivist at Morgan State University. She was the first person to hold this important job at the university.
Before this, she worked at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University. There, she helped manage old documents and created a guide about resources on Africa. From 2011 to 2013, Dr. Jones was the National Director of the Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH).
Dr. Jones studies African American history, especially in the Washington D.C. area. She loves to share the real stories and experiences of people from the past. As an archivist, she gets to work with original historical documents. This helps her write her books. She once said that her day job is like being "Bruce Wayne" and her writing is like being "Batman." She also calls working in archives "tactile time travel." Her research has helped us learn more about famous Black figures like Frederick Douglass and Mary McLeod Bethune.
While leading the ABWH, Dr. Jones's group spoke out about the movie The Help. They felt the movie showed Black domestic workers in a way that wasn't realistic. The statement gained a lot of attention from news outlets like Entertainment Weekly and National Public Radio.
Dr. Jones is also a lifelong member of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. She helped bring back their newsletter, which is now called Black History Bulletin. She also served on the D.C. Community Humanities Council for a few years.
Early Life and Education
Ida E. Jones was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her parents were Enos and Iris Jones. She has one sibling.
Dr. Jones attended Howard University for all her college degrees. She earned her bachelor's degree in journalism. Later, she received a master's degree in Public History. In 2001, she completed her Ph.D. in American History. In 1995, she received an award from the Society of American Archivists.
