She went on to become the first African American woman to serve on the board of the National Education Association.

Jones née Braswell was born on November 21, 1914, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, one of 10 children.

[1] Jones taught elementary school in North Carolina from 1933 through 1980.

During the Jim Crow segregation era she served as president of the North Carolina Teachers Association from 1968 to 1970.

[3] Following court-mandated school integration she served as president of the North Carolina Association of Educators.