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An appreciation: Jerrauld C. Jones
COMMENTARY
An appreciation: Jerrauld C. Jones
Jones’ speech about the Confederate flag on the floor of the Virginia House of Delegates in January 1999 displayed an oratory so gut-wrenching, so authentic, that he swayed opposing delegates to his side, writes columnist Roger Chesley.
ROGER CHESLEY
JUNE 4, 2025 5:20 AM
{picture}
Jerrauld Jones, a 70-year-old Norfolk native, former state delegate and judge, died May 31, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Jones family)
Editor’s note: This column references a racial slur in a quote.
Rare is the time when a state legislator – through the power of his own personal, painful narrative – changes the minds of colleagues.
Jerrauld C. Jones, given that platform on the floor of the Virginia House of Delegates in January 1999 as he discussed the Confederate battle flag, displayed an oratory so gut-wrenching, so authentic, that he swayed opposing delegates to his side. There’s nothing I can compare it to in the General Assembly since that moment.
Jones, a 70-year-old Norfolk native and son of civil rights attorney Hilary H. Jones, died Saturday. Today, he will be memorialized. … I don’t mean to lessen his sterling lifetime of achievements – including being among the first Black students to integrate Ingleside Elementary School in 1961.
He later earned bachelor’s and law degrees. In addition to being a state delegate from 1988 to 2002 representing the state’s 89th District anchored in his hometown, he later directed the state Department of Juvenile Justice. He then was appointed a juvenile and domestic relations court judge, and then a circuit court judge. He retired from the latter post last year because of health problems.
That moment in 1999, though, was an inflection point in his career. People across the commonwealth unfamiliar with his background and determination were introduced to him in a dramatic way.
{snip}
ROGER CHESLEY
Longtime columnist and editorial writer Roger Chesley worked at the (Newport News) Daily Press and The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot from 1997 through 2018. He previously worked at newspapers in Cherry Hill, N.J., and Detroit. Reach him at rchesley@virginiamercury.com
Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
An appreciation: Jerrauld C. Jones
Jones’ speech about the Confederate flag on the floor of the Virginia House of Delegates in January 1999 displayed an oratory so gut-wrenching, so authentic, that he swayed opposing delegates to his side, writes columnist Roger Chesley.
ROGER CHESLEY
JUNE 4, 2025 5:20 AM
{picture}
Jerrauld Jones, a 70-year-old Norfolk native, former state delegate and judge, died May 31, 2025. (Photo courtesy of the Jones family)
Editor’s note: This column references a racial slur in a quote.
Rare is the time when a state legislator – through the power of his own personal, painful narrative – changes the minds of colleagues.
Jerrauld C. Jones, given that platform on the floor of the Virginia House of Delegates in January 1999 as he discussed the Confederate battle flag, displayed an oratory so gut-wrenching, so authentic, that he swayed opposing delegates to his side. There’s nothing I can compare it to in the General Assembly since that moment.
Jones, a 70-year-old Norfolk native and son of civil rights attorney Hilary H. Jones, died Saturday. Today, he will be memorialized. … I don’t mean to lessen his sterling lifetime of achievements – including being among the first Black students to integrate Ingleside Elementary School in 1961.
He later earned bachelor’s and law degrees. In addition to being a state delegate from 1988 to 2002 representing the state’s 89th District anchored in his hometown, he later directed the state Department of Juvenile Justice. He then was appointed a juvenile and domestic relations court judge, and then a circuit court judge. He retired from the latter post last year because of health problems.
That moment in 1999, though, was an inflection point in his career. People across the commonwealth unfamiliar with his background and determination were introduced to him in a dramatic way.
{snip}
ROGER CHESLEY
Longtime columnist and editorial writer Roger Chesley worked at the (Newport News) Daily Press and The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot from 1997 through 2018. He previously worked at newspapers in Cherry Hill, N.J., and Detroit. Reach him at rchesley@virginiamercury.com
Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.