In a courageous address that challenged Wheeling's racial segregation, Harry H. Jones delivered a powerful radio speech highlighting the conditions faced by African American citizens under Jim Crow laws. Jones, born in Wheeling on November 7, 1887, was a graduate of Lincoln School and Oberlin College (1914), who later earned his law degree from Howard University in 1929. His speech's title referenced that African Americans made up approximately one-twentieth (5%) of Wheeling's population. Jones emphasized that this "twentieth man" was not a newcomer, noting that African Americans had been in Virginia before the Pilgrims reached Plymouth Rock. He detailed how Black citizens were barred from employment in local factories, mills, shops, and stores, typically restricted to personal service, domestic work, and coal mining. The speech revealed Wheeling as two parallel cities - one Black, one white - existing side by side but completely separate and unequal. Jones, who served as president of the Wheeling NAACP branch and later as Ohio County Law Librarian (1960-1971), continued advocating for civil rights until his death on November 20, 1974. He is buried in Wheeling's Greenwood Cemetery.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/mwbpx86e) (https://tinyurl.com/3ysjm6dx) (https://tinyurl.com/y49p7wua) (https://tinyurl.com/ytvz5aw7); Archiving Wheeling (https://tinyurl.com/3ccevety), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/yc7vtyw9)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Archiving Wheeling, Wheeling Sunday News-Register, Find a Grave