Whittling Wall: L.H. Jones Statue

L. H. Jones has been approved for the Whittling Wall Project to be located in Downtown Mount Airy on W. Oak Street. This project will include eight life-size brick sculptures of Mount Airy icons and leaders from our history. Those sculptures include: The Whittler - a general figure whittling on the wall just like people used to do long ago, Tommy Jarrell playing the fiddle, Ralph Epperson holding a WPAQ 740 AM mic, Fred Cockerham playing banjo, Donna Fargo playing guitar, L.H. Jones holding a book for his contribution to education, Flip Rees holding a tie, and a Mill Worker representing the thousands of locals who worked in mills in this area. 

L. H. Jones was a leader and educator of the African American community for over 45 years in Surry County. The well-known educator was a community and church leader whose name is as closely associated with the Boy Scout organization as in the field of education. He was the first African American to be named to the North Carolina Board of Elections since the turn of the century, and was one of the first African Americans to be named to the board in the state of North Carolina. He was principal of J. J. Jones School for 30 years. This school was named after his father who was a school principal in Mount Airy for 33 years. J. J. Jones established secondary education for African Americans in Mount Airy. L. H. Jones followed in his father's honorable footsteps in pursuit of creating opportunities for the African American community through higher learning. 

L. H. Jones was very involved in the greater Mount Airy community as well. He was Chairman of the Minority Group Committee  of the Mount Airy Planning Board, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Surry Community Action Program, and a member of the board of Yadkin Valley Economic Development District, Inc, the four-county antipovery agency which included Surry County. 

L.H. Jones received his Bachelor's degree from West Virginia State College and his Master's degree in Education from West Virginia University. He married Miss Eleanor Sellars of Chapel Hill. They adopted two children, Linwood Jones and Gail Jones. 

L. H. Jones was a shining example of local leadership in our community. He served others throughout his life to open doors and move the needle forward for future generations.  Please consider donating to this project to honor his memory, and encourage others to follow his example of selfless leadership. 

This campaign is organized by the African American Historical and Genealogical Society of Surry County, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Donations to this campaign are tax deductible. The original project was initiated with a downtown revitalization grant from the state. It originally moved forward without the inclusion of an African American sculpture. When this was brought to the attention of the City, members expressed embarrassment and apologies about the oversight, and agreed to help raise funds for the inclusion of the L. H. Jones sculpture. We believe this project is an important step towards building a community that includes all people, and brings together our diverse population. 

You may donate to this campaign online, or you can make checks payable to: The African American Historical & Genealogical Society. Mail checks to P.O. Box 7144, Mount Airy, NC 27030. On the lower left memo line write "STATUE" to be sure your contribution goes towards this project.

Thank you for your support of this project.