Descriptive Summary
Access
Citation
Note on the Provenance
Biographical Note
Scope and Content
INVENTORY
Series 1: Biography
Series 2: Manuscripts
Series 3: Programs
Series 4: Clippings
Series 5: Photos
Series 6: Memorabilia

For information about the Chicago Public Library, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature, you may ask a librarian on the Chicago Public Library website.

Guide to the Willa S. Jones Papers, 1930-1984

Processed by:

Angela Bacon, Mapping the Stacks, University of Chicago

Supervised by:

Michael Flug, Senior Archivist, Chicago Public Library, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature.

Descriptive Summary

Title:	Willa S. Jones Papers
Dates:	1930-1984
Size:	4 Linear Feet
Repository:	Chicago Public Library Carter G. Woodson Regional Library Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature 9525 S. Halsted St. Chicago, IL 60628

Access

No restrictions.

Citation

When quoting material from collection, the preferred citation is:

Willa S. Jones Papers, [Box #, #], Chicago Public Library, Carter G. Woodson Regional Library, Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature.

Note on the Provenance

Gift of Rogers Jones, 1982.

Biographical Note

Willa Saunders Jones was born a twin on February 22, 1901, to Ada Pulliam and George Washington Saunders, in Little Rock, Arkansas. Soon after Willa’s birth, and the death of her twin Jimmy, Ada Pulliam married Smith McBerry, and worked as a domestic. Later, Ada married William Anderson. Willa (called Willie as a child) spent her childhood with her mother, stepfather, and half-brother, as well as her grandmother and great grandmother, both former slaves. The working conditions of African American laborers she witnessed as a child propelled Jones to move to the urban Midwest, and had a great impact on her work as a playwright.

Willa’s father, George Saunders, was the pastor of Mt. Tabor Baptist Church in Little Rock until his death in 1924. Willa attended both her father’s church and Mt. Olive Baptist as a child. Willa graduated from Arkansas Baptist College, a denominational high school, around 1920. Upon graduating, she married George Washington Jones, a graduate of Philander Smith Methodist College.

In 1921, shortly before their move to Chicago, Willa and George had their first child, George Jr. Intending to remain in Little Rock, and in the process of purchasing their first home, the couple was forced to leave Arkansas for Chicago after George Sr. (along with another man, Emanuel West) was accused of raping a white woman. Willa and George narrowly escaped, unharmed by the vigilante mob.

In 1922, shortly after moving to Chicago, Willa had her second child, Charles, and a third, a girl named Betty Jane, who died in soon after birth. While George attended Moody Bible Institute, Willa became severely ill. It was during her recovery that she began work on The Passion Play. As a young woman, Jones was recognized as a talented vocalist, and acclaimed as a choral director. Jones was also known as a keyboardist, powerful speaker and spiritual leader. These talents would serve her well as director and producer of the play.

The Play

The Chicago Passion Play ran for 55 years, between 1926 and 1981—two years after Jones’ death in 1979. It was first staged Easter Sunday 1926 at St. John Church. Originally titled The Resurrection, the original production did not include Christ as a character, nor did it depict the crucifixion. The audience consisted of fewer than 25 viewers and a small cast. By 1930, the production was being staged at various churches around the city. However, The Passion Play remained a small-scale production until its later performances, which were staged in large auditoriums and venues such as the Civic Opera House.

Being in Chicago increased the play’s opportunities for exposure through close-knit local churches and community organizations. Its major form of publicity came from word-of- mouth advertising in African-American communities. Jones’ audiences grew when performances began to include singers like Mahalia Jackson, a close friend to Jones, Dinah Washington, Reverend Clay Evans, and the Barrett Sisters along with popular Chicago dance troupes. The play also presented the opportunity for Chicago’s south and west side residents to participate in theatrical productions.

After Jones’ death in 1979, the play’s production and direction were taken over by her grandson, Rogers Jones, and continued until 1986, when a lack of funding stopped production.

The papers in this collection, though small, include a series of programs and playbills (the first dating back to 1930), an organizational summary from the Willa Saunders Jones Corp. 1984, an original copy of the script (likely from later productions), and a large collection of memorabilia—plaques, awards, and proclamations from the City of Chicago.

While these papers, located at the Harsh Collection, are limited in size, a detailed biography Willa Saunders Jones and analysis of the play, written by Brian James Hallstoos of Iowa University, is available in PDF form at: http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/371/.

Scope and Content

The Willa Saunders Jones Collection consists chiefly of programs, news clippings, and numerous photographs from the production of the Chicago Passion Play. Also, there is a large amount of memorabilia—plaques, trophies, and proclamations from City of Chicago—included in the collection. Of note is a copy of the play (date unknown) containing marginalia.

The collection is made up of six series: Biography, Manuscripts, Programs, Clippings, Photographs, and Memorabilia.

Series 1: Biography contains two documents; a summary of the Willa Saunders Jones Corp., printed in 1984, and a brief biographical sketch of Jones.

Series 2: Manuscripts contains a single document; a copy of the Passion Play script, date unknown.

Series 3: Programs consists of seven programs from various productions of the Passion Play between 1956 and the mid 1970s.

Series 4: Clippings is comprised of several clippings, taken between the 1950s and 1983, covering various aspects of the play’s production, and Jones’ development as the writer/director.

Series 5: Photographs is composed of photographs documenting the production and performance of the Chicago Passion Play.

Series 6: Memorabilia contains various awards—proclamations from the Mayor of Chicago, trophies, and plaques—spanning Jones’ career as writer and director of The Passion Play.

INVENTORY

Series 1: Biography

Box 1

Folder 1

Willa Saunders Jones, Corp., 1984

Box 1

Folder 2

"Willa Saunders Jones," [N.D.]

Series 2: Manuscripts

Box 1

Folder 3

"The Passion" Play Script, [N.D.]

Series 3: Programs

Box 1

Folder 4

"The Resurrection: An Easter Pageant," Saint Luke Baptist Church, Chicago, IL, 4/20/1930

Box 1

Folder 5

"Passion Play," DuSable High School, Chicago, IL, 4/1/1956

Box 1

Folder 6

"Passion Play," Auditorium Theatre, 4/4-4/6 1969

Box 1

Folder 7

"Passion Play," Auditorium Theatre, 3/27-3/29 1970

Box 1

Folder 8

"Chicago's Passion Play Sponsored by the Church Federation of Greater Chicago," Auditorium Theatre, 4/11/1971

Box 1

Folder 9

"Willa Saunders Jones' Passion Play; 25th Annual Presentation," Civic Opera House, 4/15/1976

Box 1

Folder 10

"The Chicago Passion Play," McCormick Place-On-The-Lake, [N.D.]

Series 4: Clippings

Box 1

Folder 11

"Giant Musical Program to Honor Willa S. Jones," Chicago Defender, 2/18/1950

Box 1

Folder 12

"How It Started: Mrs. Jones Passion Play in 41st Year," Chicago Sun-Times, 3/21/1970

Box 1

Folder 13

"Roses for the Producer," [Stand-alone photo], The Post-Tribune, 1970s(?)

Box 1

Folder 14

"Passion Play," [Stand-alone photo], The Post-Tribune, 4/5/1971

Box 1

Folder 15

"'Passion Play' Cast Honors Founder," Chicago Defender, 3/1/1979

Box 1

Folder 16

"Mayor Bilandic Proclaims 'Passion Play' Day," 4/10/1979, [N.P.]

Box 1

Folder 17

"The Chicago Passion Play- A Tradition of Excellence," The Chicago Metro News, 4/12/1980

Box 1

Folder 18

"Passion Play Set for Opera House," Chicago Defender, 4/26/1980

Box 1

Folder 19

"Passion Play: Vow Becomes a City Legacy," Chicago Sun-Times, 4/28/1980

Box 1

Folder 20

"Passion Play- A Resurrected Joy," The Observer, 3/28/1981

Box 1

Folder 21

"Chicago Passion Play," Citizen Newspapers, 3/10/1983

Box 1

Folder 22

"'Chicago Passion Play' Returns to DuSable," Chicago Defender, 3/5/1983

Box 1

Folder 23

"The Chicago Passion Play- A Tradition of Excellence," [Collage of Various Articles Relating to Play and Willa S. Jones], [N.D.]

Box 1

Folder 24

"Chicago Passion Play to Unfold in Splendor," Chicago Defender, [N.D.]

Box 1

Folder 25

"Enacts Christus," [Stand-alone photo], [N.P.], [N.D.]

Box 1

Folder 26

"Open Passion Play Academy," [N.P.], [N.D.]

Box 1

Folder 27

"Operation Breadbasket Plans 40th Production of Passion Play," [N.P.], [N.D.]

Box 1

Folder 28

"Passion Play is Tradition," [N.P.], [N.D.]

Series 5: Photos

Box 2

001

Manger Gilbert Welcomes "Passion Play," back to Civic Opera House after McCormic Place Fire in 1967

Box 2

002

Passion Play, Civic Opera House, Holy Women and Angels, 1978

Box 2

003

Angels and Holy Women Wonder Who Will Roll the Stone Away, Civic Opera House, 1978

Box 2

004

"Passion Play," Civic Opera House, 1978

Box 2

005

"Passion Play," Civic Opera House, 1978

Box 2

006

The Last Supper, "Passion Play," Civic Opera House, 1978

Box 2

007

"Passion Play," Civic Opera House, 1978

Box 2

008