Facebook

<p><b>Matthew Jones</b> was an African-American folk singer/songwriter known for being a field secretary of the <a href="/pages/w/113440075336089">Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee</a> and part of their <a href="/pages/w/144032978946250">The Freedom Singers</a> in the 1960s.</p><h2>Civil Rights Movement</h2><p>Matthew Jones was a schooled, experienced musician, and became active in the <a href="/pages/w/577211275661753">Civil Rights Movement</a> when he joined the <a href="/pages/w/166660140054307">Nashville Student Movement</a> in 1960. Jones was an outspoken participant in the movement in <a href="/pages/w/111958528817427">Danville, Virginia</a>, where he organized another vocal group, the Danville Freedom Voices, in 1963.</p><p>Jones relocated to <a href="/pages/w/107991659233606">Atlanta, Georgia</a>, with his brother Marshall, who was also affiliated with the <a href="/pages/w/110253422337761">SNCC</a> and their music ensemble, the Freedom Singers.</p><p>Matthew Jones faced down the <a href="/pages/w/108381552519797">Ku Klux Klan</a> on many occasions and endured 29 arrests during the Civil Rights Movement. His experiences developed him into a “freedom singer” in the most literal manner.</p><p>“I don’t think of myself as a cultural worker,” Jones said. “I am a freedom singer; a freedom fighter. I’ve always been a freedom fighter; I’ll probably go down that way, too. Freedom songs are different than other protest songs because they are really a <a href="/pages/w/114000378610127">mantra</a>. The use of repetition allows for the message to be understood. If we sing a powerful statement enough times in a song, like ‘This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,’ then we can internalize it”.</p><h2>Later life</h2><p>Matthew Jones performed his repertoire around the world, including alongside terrorists in <a href="/pages/w/128911233855383">Northern Ireland</a>.</p>