Denise C. Jones papers, 1974-2014

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Summary

Creator:
Jones, Denise C., 1959-2023
Abstract:
Denise C. Jones (1959-2023) was a Black lesbian feminist, activist, and audio and print journalist. Her papers include journals, academic papers, reference materials and AV materials including interviews from shows she produced or hosted between 1980-1999. Acquired as part of the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture, the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture, and the Archive of Documentary Arts.
Extent:
10 Linear Feet (14 boxes and 1 oversize folder)
Language:
Materials in English.
Research Center:
Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture
John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture
Archive of Documentary Arts
Collection ID:
RL.13164

Background

Scope and content:

The Denise C. Jones Papers document Jones' education and career in radio journalism in the 1980s and 1990s. The Papers and artifacts series contains materials related to Jones's educational and employment background from high school to post-secondary education and career development from the 1970s to 2000s. These include letters, memos, and academic papers she wrote for Temple University as well as reference materials, flyers, and conference presentation documents. Materials relate mostly to the lesbian, Black American and Pan-African experience. Also included are ephemeral artifacts like conference programs, play bills, postcards, artists brochures, buttons, journals, and planners.

The Audiovisual materials series consists of reels, audiocassettes, VHS cassettes, and mini cassettes that contain material from the Community Journal, the WRTI – 90.1 FM (Temple University) radio station, and the Democracy Now!. Most of the recordings are of interviews, many with jazz musicians such as Dianne Reeves.

Biographical / historical:

Denise C. Jones (1959-2023) was an award-winning Pan-African, Black feminist lesbian audio and print journalist. She was born on 1959 in Detroit, Michigan and died in 2023 in Washington, D.C.

Jones graduated in 1977 from Cass Technical High School in Detroit. After high school, she worked at the Library of Congress from 1979 to the 1980s. In 1985, she graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcasting Production.

She worked in both print and broadcast journalism, including as editor of the National Council of Negro Women's SISTERS magazine and as a freelance writer for the Afro-American Newspaper and the University of Maryland Alumni Magazine. She also worked on radio stations WPFW-FM Pacifica and WRTI-FM at Temple University, where she produced and hosted programs featuring local, national, and international guests, including activists, filmmakers, scholars, musicians, educators, politicians, and cultural workers. Jones received the Achievement in Radio (AIR) Award for her work producing the WRTI-FM program Community Journal. She was also an early contributor to Democracy Now! in the 1990s.

By 1991, Jones began a Masters in African American Studies at Temple University. Later, she took a leave of absence and returned to Washington, D.C., to care for family members, including her brother, who was dying from HIV/AIDS, and her mother.

In the late 1990s, Jones was based in Washington, D.C., where she continued her writing and deepened her engagement in Black LGBTQ community life, including work with organizations such as Women in the Life, the Mautner Project, and Sisterspace and Books. She also contributed to health and wellness initiatives, including Prime Time Sister Circle, an N.I.H.-funded organization serving women of color.

In 2002, Jones petitioned Temple University to be reinstated but her request was denied, and she was told to reapply for admission. After she was accepted, she continued her education, wrote academic papers, attended conferences, and conducted interviews. She later completed her graduate studies at Trinity University.

Throughout her life Jones maintained a close friendship with Aishah Shahidah Simmons; they worked together on projects like the film NO! The Rape Documentary. Her personal and professional work centered Black and African experiences, with a sustained focus on culture, politics, history, and liberation through a Black feminist lens.

Acquisition information:
The Denise C. Jones papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase from Aishah Shahidah Simmons in 2024.
Processing information:

Processed by kemisa kassa, November, 2025

The majority of folder titles and titles for audiovisual materials originated with the creator.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 2024-0081

Arrangement:

This collection was arranged into two series: Papers and artifacts; and Audiovisual materials.

The Paper and Artifacts series are arranged alphabetically by file names. The audiovisual materials are grouped by material type. The majority of folder titles and titles for audiovisual materials originated with the creator.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Access note. Collection contains original audiovisual items that need to be reformatted before use. Contact Research Services for access.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Denise C. Jones papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1zt88