Matthew Jones

Matthew Jones (September 17, 1936 – March 30, 2011) was an African-American folk singer/songwriter known for being a field secretary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and part of their The Freedom Singers in the 1960s. Civil Rights Movement Matthew Jones was a schooled, experienced musician, and became active in the Civil Rights Movement when he joined the Nashville Student Movement in 1960. Jones was an outspoken participant in the movement in Danville, Virginia, where he organized another vocal group, the Danville Freedom Voices, in 1963. Jones relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, with his brother Marshall, who was also affiliated with the SNCC and their music ensemble, the Freedom Singers. Matthew Jones faced down the Ku Klux Klan on many occasions and endured 29 arrests during the Civil Rights Movement. His experiences developed him into a "freedom singer" in the most literal manner.