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Title
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Simmons Jones oral history interview, 1993 February 28
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Interviewee
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Jones, Simmons, 1920-
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Interviewer
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Sinnewald, Marc
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Place of Publication
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Charlotte, North Carolina
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Publisher
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J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections
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Date of Interview
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1993-02-28
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Physical Description
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1 audio file (1:21:16) : digital, MP3
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Object Type
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sound recording-nonmusical
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Genre
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spoken word
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Language
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eng
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Interviewee Biography
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Simmons Jones was a 72-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place in his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte in 1920. He was educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was employed as a reporter for the Charlotte News, a corporal in the U.S. Army, a director's assistant, a freelance fashion photographer, and an author.
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Abstract
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Fashion photographer and author Simmons Baker Jones discusses his eventful life, beginning with his formative years growing up in a prominent Charlotte family and continuing through his service as a corporal in the U.S. Army during the Second World War, his experiences in Paris, New York, and Rome, and his return to Charlotte in the early 1970s. Mr. Jones reflects on the privilege of his childhood, his education, and his outlook on the significant social changes that occurred during his lifetime. Strong themes during the interview include Southern culture, significant changes in race relations in the postwar period, shifting perspectives on sexuality and gender in the late twentieth century, alcoholism, and the negative impact of evangelical religion on society. As the nephew of Charlotte News owner William Carey Dowd, and as a reporter for the News himself, Mr. Jones recalls his association with fellow journalist and author Wilbur Joseph Cash, noting that although Dowd and Cash had fundamental differences they maintained a good relationship. Despite his eagerness to escape his Southern roots and conservative upbringing as a young man, Mr. Jones embraced his return to Charlotte to care for his mother in the mid-1970s, and he celebrates the value of Southern culture in this interview. His closing sentiments, however, are that it is crucial for people to be true to their nature and to follow their passions and persuasions, even when these cut against conventional mores.
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Digital Object Notes
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MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master. Interview originally recorded on analog audio cassette and digitized using a Digidesign 003 rack.
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Interviewee Occupations
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Authors
Photographers
Journalists
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Subjects--Names
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Jones, Simmons, 1920-
Heath, Gordon, 1918-1991
Cash, W. J. (Wilbur Joseph), 1900-1941
Dowd, W. C. (William Carey), 1865-1927
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Subjects--Events
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World War (1939-1945)
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Subjects--Topics
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Social classes
Race relations
Race discrimination
Segregation
Religion
Sexual ethics
Homosexuality
Families--Social life and customs
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Subjects--Geographic
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North Carolina--Charlotte
France--Paris
New York (State)--New York
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Subjects--Genre
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Interviews
Oral histories
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Subjects--Titles
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Charlotte news (Charlotte, N.C. : 1928)
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Coverage--Dates
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1920-2000
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Digital Collection Title
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David Goldfield student project on change in the Charlotte region
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Digital Project Title
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Living Charlotte : the postwar development of a New South city
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Rights
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The materials included on this web site are freely available for private study, scholarship or non-commercial research under the fair use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, United States Code). Any use beyond the provisions of fair use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication, broadcast, redistribution or mounting on another web site always require prior written permission and may also be subject to additional restrictions and fees. UNC Charlotte does not hold literary rights to all materials in its collections and the researcher is responsible for securing those rights when needed. Copyright information for specific collections is available upon request.
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Grant Information
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Digitization made possible by funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.
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Internet Media Type
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audio/mpeg
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Related Materials
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Simmons Baker Jones papers, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (http://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/05292/)
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Identifier
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GF-JO0139