Jim Before Jonestown
How does a beloved community member turn out to be a deranged cult leader? Or is it vice versa?
Most of us are least somewhat familiar with the cult at Jonestown, or at the very least, we’ve heard the phrase, ‘drinking the Kool-Aid,’ a reference to the cyanide-laced drink members of the church-turned-cult, Peoples Temple drank on their last day on earth.
It’s been called a mass suicide, but the facts lend themselves to it really being mass murder. Over 900 men, women, and children died in the Guyanese jungle on November 18, 1978, and they did so without a choice at the behest of ‘church’ leader, Jim Jones.
Also, it was Flavor Aid, not Kool-Aid.
But here’s what most people don’t know…
Before Jonestown, Jim Jones was a powerful force for good in his community
In the 1960s, Jones “helped integrate churches, hospitals, restaurants, and movie theaters,” and had his own ‘rainbow family’ of adopted and biological kids. He helped his parishioners with tangible things like getting health care or getting their power turned back on.
“Peoples Temple ran homes to care for the elderly, half a dozen foster homes for children and a ranch licensed to care for…
