A Look at Edna Lee Bland Jones, aka Sister Jones, in Coming of Age in Mississippi

Her Story, Photo Shared by Her Family

By Roscoe Barnes III
Chairman, Anne Moody History Project
Copyright (c) 2018

#AnneMoody

Sister Jones in Anne Moody's 
Coming of Age in Mississippi

Thanks to the Rev. LeReginald Jones, we now have a photo of Edna Lee Bland Jones, who is featured as Sister Jones in Anne Moody's Coming of Age in Mississippi. The photo was probably taken in the 1980s, according to her family.

“She was known for her cooking and her singing, and she had a sharp tongue,” said LeReginald. “We called her Mama. The people who didn’t know her called her, Ms. Edna.”

LeReginald, who serves as assistant pastor of Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in Centreville, Miss., said he is the great-grandson of Sister Jones. When she died in 1990 at the age of 71, he was just two years of age.

Sister Jones’ family remembers her as a strong woman who was deeply religious. She was the mother of 13 children. LeReginald said she had strong faith in God, and her devotion to her church was well-known.

Sister Jones was a member of Mount Pleasant, the same church that Moody joined as a teenager. In Chapter Five of Coming of Age, Moody wrote:

Just as I was leaving to go back outside I saw Mama having a serious conversation with old Sister Jones who was now sitting beside her. I knew that she was trying to get Mama to get me to join Mount Pleasant.

Usually during revival season older sisters of the church recruited candidates for baptism and Sister Jones always outdid the others. 

Sister Jones had strength, but she also had pride. LeReginald and other family members used to wonder why she never did domestic work for white families back in the day.

“We asked my great-granddad,” LeReginald said. “We asked why she didn’t work and clean houses like everybody else did during that time. He said it was because of her mouth. She would speak her mind and not hold back. So he worked very, very hard to take care of the family. She never did domestic work for any white families.”

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Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississippi