Pelmeni

A farmer's fight to bring equal education for black children to rural Northampton County, NC during Jim Crow and Civil Rights Eras transforms him and his community in unimaginable ways. James Henry Jones, a self-educated farmer, disregards racism and lack of education to lead the fight to end nearly a century of education inequality in Northampton County, NC during the Jim Crow and Civil Rights Eras. His improbable leadership transforms him and his community in unimaginable ways. —Anna Ruth Jones Chairman Jones--An Improbable Leader tells the story of the director's father, James Henry Jones, a self-educated farmer who disregards racism and lack of education and emerges as a trailblazer during the tense 1969 school desegregation crisis in Northampton County, leading the fight to end nearly a century of inequality in education. After freeing himself from Jim Crow sharecropping in the 1950's, he launches a personal campaign to free black children from Jim Crow education. Jones places his own children on the front lines, brings blacks and whites together for dialog, helps integration tip toe into Northampton, and transforms the educational landscape for everyone. The value he places on children and his reputation for fairness gains him the trust and respect of those who are resistant to change and those who think that change will never come. His visionary leadership as North Carolina's First Black School Board Chairman introduces a new era in education and has a marked effect on racial progress in the state. Born on a former slave plantation in 1916, Jones died in 1984, the year that the Northampton County school system received accreditation for the first time in its history, largely due to his vision and efforts. His story unfolds through his daughter Anna's conversations with those who participated in the integration movement and witnessed his extraordinary courage and leadership —Anna Jones