Adrienne Lash Jones


Adrienne Lash Jones was an American academic of African-American studies. She was a professor at Oberlin College for most of her career.

Early life and education

Adrienne Lash was born in Salisbury, North Carolina to Wiley I. Lash and Thelma Spalding Lash. Her family "had a history of operating small businesses" and valued education; her mother had earned a PhD. One of two daughters, she grew up in Salisbury, where she worked in the family-owned Lash’s Self Service Grocery and attended Price High School. Lash's father went on to become Salisbury's first Black mayor from 1981 to 1985.
Jones graduated from Fisk University in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in business management. While at Fisk, she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha. She earned a graduate degree and a doctorate in American studies at Case [Western Reserve University]. Her dissertation was titled Jane Edna Hunter: A Case Study of Black Leadership, 1915- 1950. It was republished in 1990 in volume 12 of the 16- volume series, Black Women in United States History.

Career

Jones became involved in civil rights activism in Cleveland in the 1960s, eventually becoming recognized as a local leader, meeting with figures such as Malcolm X and Cleveland mayor Carl Stokes.
Much of Jones' academic publishing was on Black women in the YWCA, exploring the history of inclusion, segregation, and racism within the organization. In 1987, she received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for her research into the history of Black women in the YWCA.
Jones was a professor at Oberlin College for most of her career, and became the school's first tenured female Black professor. She was head of Oberlin College's Black Studies Department by 1991, and developed a curriculum for the department which focused on "a mix of courses in history, politics, education, and fine arts". She also played a pivotal role in the development of the college's feminist studies department.

Personal life and death

She married L. Morris Jones in 1957. The couple moved to Cleveland in 1958, and L. Morris Jones started a medical practice in the Hough neighborhood. In 1962, they relocated to Shaker Heights as part of integration efforts.
The couple had three sons, two of whom were twins. The couple retired in the late 1990s, relocating to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Following Morris's death in 2015, Jones relocated to Cary, North Carolina to live near her sister.
Adrienne Lash Jones died in Cary, North Carolina on August 28, 2018.

Publications

Articles

  • Jane Edna Hunter: A Case Study of Black Leadership, 1915- 1950.
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Chapters

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