Ken Jones (November 9, 1950 – January 13, 2021), a Black gay rights activist who fought against the segregation of LGBTQ activism and spaces, lost his battle against bladder cancer in January. He was 70.
Jones was born in New Jersey in 1950. He served three tours of duty in the Vietnam War before being assigned to Treasure Island in 1972, where he become active in San Francisco’s LGBTQ politics.
He served on the Board of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee in the early 1980s, starting as chair of the Outreach Committee and ultimately becoming the organization’s first African American chair. He later volunteered with the Kaposi’s Sarcoma Research and Education Foundation, which became the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, where he organized their first bike-a-thon fundraiser, a 100-mile ride from San Francisco to the Russian River.
Following the police killing of Oscar Grant, Jones was appointed to the citizens review board for the BART Police Department in 2009.
Jones participated in Juanita More’s “A March to Remember and Reignite Hope” in February 2020, which was organized to honor and remember long-gone queer spaces in the Castro and help vitalize the remaining queer spaces. The march was held just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic forced many of the businesses to close or reduce services to reduce the spread of the virus.
At the march, Jones addressed participants in front of Toad Hall, the site of a former bar called the Pendulum. The Bay Area Reporter recounts Jones’ recollection of the Pendulum as a gathering space for African American men and women, and the people who loved them. It was also the home bar for the Pendulum Pirates, a gay softball team that raised thousands of dollars to fight AIDS in the 1980s. The Pendulum Pirates was led by Glenn Burke, an African American who was the first Major League Baseball player to come out of the closet. Burke died of AIDS in 1995.
Jones also called out the gay bars that would refuse to allow people of color into their establishments, or would refuse to serve them once they were inside.
“For several years we were on these streets as young African American gay and bisexual men saying that this is very f-ed up, we have a right to be in here,” said Jones. “And so we spent a whole summer trying to convince everyone that this street, this bar, this movement, is for all of us, and there’s room for all of us, and let’s continue to make room for all of us.”
In the 2017 ABC mini-series When We Rise, an eight-part series written by Dustin Lance Black based on activist Cleve Jones’ memoirs of the same name, Ken Jones was portrayed by Michael K. Williams, with Jonathan Majors playing Jones when he was younger.
Jones was diagnosed with bladder cancer in September of 2020. On December 22, he posted what could well serve as his own epitaph:
“Today I decided that it is not how many suns and moons you witness as much as what you are able to undertake (with your whole heart) and fight for! Soooo, if I can stay in the (existential) here and now (where all is well) and not get caught up in my circumstances which are only temporary…I’ve got many things to do as the clock ticks (loudly).”
Further Reading
Barmann, Jay, “Pioneering SF Gay Activist Ken Jones Dies at 70,” SFist, January 14, 2021.
Bravo, Tony, “Ken Jones, S.F. Pride’s ‘Father of Diversity,’ dies at 70,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 20, 2021.
Ferrannini, John, “SF gay activist Ken Jones dies at 70,” Bay Area Reporter, January 13, 2021.
Jones, Cleve, Facebook post, January 13, 2021.
David-Elijah Nahmod, “Before staying at home, LGBTs recalled Castro businesses,” Bay Area Reporter, April 1, 2020.
Reynolds, Daniel, “Ken Jones, Pioneering Black Gay Activist, Dies at 70,” The Advocate, January 15, 2021.
Wikipedia, “Glenn Burke,” accessed February 7, 2021.
Wikipedia, “Shooting of Oscar Grant,” accessed February 7, 2021.
Wikipedia, “When We Rise,” accessed February 7, 2021.
I lived in San Francisco from 1993-’98. I was an LVN, working through an agency all over the Bay Area.
After my Honorable Discharge from the USN as a Hospital Corpsman, I couldn’t believe the racism I faced at the hands of the gay white community. The multiple ID incident happened once toe at Badlands, directly across the street from The Pendulum. I never returned to that club and was thrilled when they lost their license years later.
It’s sad, shameful, and disgusting that POC who are members of the LGBTQ family still face racial discrimination from Non POC who identify as LGBTQ family.
My prayers and condolences are extended to Mr. Ken Jones, his family and friends. May his soul Rest In Honor for his community service advocacy, and his call on the greater SF LGBTQ community for greater acceptance and accountability in unification.