Interview with Joe Jones
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Interviewees
Jones, Joe
Accessibility Note
Content is digitally accessible 2026.
Interviewer
Edwards, Ana
Producer
Potlan, Neha; Washington, Olivia; Sunshine, Daniel; Unverzagt Goddard, Maggie
Description
This interview was conducted as part of the East Marshall Street Well Project. Ana Edwards, a public historian and teaching professor, interviewed Dr. Joseph Jones, a member and former chair of the Family Representative Council (FRC) of the East Marshall Street Well Project.
Dr. Jones was the inaugural chair of the FRC Council. He shared his experience leading that body through a phase of education and then deliberation while drafting their recommendations. He also spoke about the innovation of community-engaged research in anthropology, and how it resonates with students. Dr. Jones relayed how his skeletal research with the ancestral remains at William & Mary has revealed new findings, as well as provided an opportunity to mentor the next generation of African American scholars. He discussed his experiences with public outreach through various grants to help fulfill the FRC vision of memorialization. He closed with a reflection of gratitude for being able to participate in the work of the East Marshall Street Well Project.
Biographical Note
Ana Edwards is a public historian and community activist. Currently, she is a teaching professor in VCU's Department of African American Studies. Most of her work centers on preserving the history and public spaces associated with Gabriel and the African Burial Ground in Shockoe Bottom.
Dr. Joseph Jones is a member and former chair of the Family Representative Council (FRC) of the East Marshall Street Well Project. He is an associate teaching professor of anthropology at the College of William & Mary, where he is affiliated with the Institute for Historical Biology. In this interview, he sat with Professor Ana Edwards of Virginia Commonwealth University to discuss his education, career, and his multiple important roles within the East Marshall Street Well Project.
Note
This interview description and biographical information was written by Daniel Sunshine.
Corporate Name Subject
Hampden-Sydney College. Medical Department--Corrupt practices; Virginia Commonwealth University--Corrupt practices; College of William & Mary; African Burial Ground (New York, N.Y.)
Topical Subject
Reparations for historical injustices; Human remains (Archaeology)--Repatriation; African American cemeteries--Desecration; Body snatching; History--Virginia--Richmond; Medical colleges--Corrupt practices; Universities and colleges--Corrupt practices; Racism in medicine; Racism against Black people; Public history; Community organization; Forensic anthropology
Place of Interview
Virginia Commonwealth University, The Workshop
City/Location
Richmond (Va.)
Genre
oral histories (literary genre)
Local Genre
oral history; sound recording; text
Type
Sound; Text
Digital Format
audio/mp3
Language
eng
Rights Statement URL
Rights
This material is protected by copyright, and copyright is held by Joe Jones. You are permitted to use this material in any way that is permitted by copyright. In addition, this material is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Acknowledgment of Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries as a source is required.
Collection
East Marshall Street Well Oral History Project
Contributors
Virginia Commonwealth University
Source
"Interview with Joe Jones," East Marshall Street Well Oral History Project, M 573, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University.
File Name
emswoh_jonesjoseph_interview.mp3
Disciplines
African American Studies | Digital Humanities | History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Oral History | Social History | United States History