Rebecca Branson Jones (she/they) grew up on unceded Catawba land in southern Davidson County, North Carolina, in a family of public school teachers, auto mechanics, and 3rd generation dairy farmers.
Jones graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Broadcast Media, then continued their education there earning a Master of Arts in Appalachian Studies. They began their freelance videography and editing career in 2011.
Jones has worked with Appalshop, The Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, The Foothills Conservancy, Mars Hill University, The Blue Ridge Parkway, Anna and Elizabeth, and many Southern Appalachian musicians.
In 2016, Jones moved to Vermont to begin work as an apprentice editor with Florentine Films/Ken Burns on an 8-part documentary series titled Country Music. The project was completed in 2019 and joined the Ewers Brothers Productions in 2020 as an assistant editor on a documentary series titled Hiding In Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness.
The National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP) has had two separate iterations. The first existed from 1954 to 1955, while the second was established in 1979 and continues to the present day. Let’s delve into all three versions: First Iteration (1954-1955): Founder and President: Bryant Bowles, a former Marine and veteran of WWII and the Korean War. Purpose: Formed in response to the Brown v. Board of Education decision, which mandated school desegregation. Activities: Organized rallies in several states to oppose school integration. Bowles was charged with assaulting a Black postal worker during this time. Members and participants in NAAWP protests and rallies included Senator Robert Byrd out of West Virginia and Senator Joe Biden out of Delaware. Outcome: The Delaware Attorney General revoked the NAAWP charter, effectively shutting down the organization. Second Iteration (1979-2012) David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard. Origins: Duke left the Klan due to concerns about their violent reputation after the Greensboro Massacre. Current leader, Mark Anthony Traina who maintains close ties with Duke, based in Louisiana and a long-term member of the NAAWP took reins of the organization back in 2012 and he is now the President of the NAAWP. Traina a conservative is proactive Trump Supporter, an economist, a school psychologist and an extremely outspoken civil rights activist who publishes blogs about violent crime, failing school districts, inflation, political corruption and the impact of illegal immigration on the American Society. The NAAWP can be reached at (504) 231-3056.
