Alumni Profile: Robert Jones, Jr. ‘06
Robert Jones, Jr. ‘06
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences newsletter is proud to feature Robert Jones Jr. '06, who obtained his B.F.A. in creative writing with honors in 2006 and his M.F.A. in fiction in 2008 from the Department of English. Jones is making big waves in the literary world with a critically acclaimed debut novel, The Prophets, an immediate New York Times bestseller published in January 2021. The novel breaks new ground both in its subject and its breathtaking style of writing. In a New York Times review, Jones revealed that this phenomenal story came to him in whispers from people whose stories have not been told, and whose history has often been wiped from the record, i.e. black queer people who were enslaved in America. It is a love story set inside a tragedy, one that explores the story of Samuel and Isaiah, two black men enslaved on a plantation in Mississippi who find love with each other, as well as the consequences of their love for everyone else in their world.
Jones' extraordinary skills as a writer were burnished and well-recognized while still an undergraduate. At Brooklyn College, the Brooklyn native became editor of the school magazine, president of the Literature Club, and vice-president of the Poetry Club. He was a recipient of Dean’s List honors for each of the eight semesters he pursued his undergraduate degree. One of his English professors, Professor Roni Natov, warmly recalled Jones' years as her student.
Robert Jones, Jr. was my intern from spring 2005 to fall 2005 along with 10 or so students in my English Major’s Counseling office. He was the chief writer for our blog and wrote for and desktop published our English Majors’ ‘Zine, a 60+-page magazine complete with student art student writing. Rob, as he is known to me, is and was brilliant and utterly compassionate. His intellect and deep concern for others epitomized his work and his character, then and now. Rob and I have often talked about our growing families—my grandchildren, his nephews and nieces. One of the phrases that characterizes our relationship is "intake of breath." We said this to each other whenever something was intense or wondrous.
But the English Department was not his only educational home at the college. In a wide-ranging Zoom interview with Jones and Professor George Cunningham, Jones described the impact of the courses he took in the Africana Studies Department. First, Cunningham noted that Robert was his student over 15 years ago and took both semesters of the African American Literature survey, African American Folklore, and Reading Race. Cunningham recalled that Robert received As in every course except Reading Race, in which he received an A+. Jones said of Reading Race, "It is the best class at Brooklyn College,” and went on to describe in detail how much the course meant to him, and the way it changed his career. "Of those courses, the one that sort of blew my mind and changed my entire perspective about what it meant to be a black writer, which I'd say with pride, is Reading Race that I took with Professor Cunningham."
An early Son of Baldwin social banner
After graduating, Jones published a string of writings. He has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, Essence, OkayAfrica, The Feminist Wire, and The Grio. Most famously, he is the creator of the social justice, social media community Son of Baldwin, the groundbreaking and influential blog Jones conceived in 2008, both as homage to famed American writer James Baldwin and as a way to discover if Jones himself was, indeed, alone in the way he thought about the world. It was inspired by Baldwin's end-of-life prayer that his work someday be recovered among "the wreckage and rumble" of the world he left behind.
Son of Baldwin, which has grown into something of a branded community—on Facebook, especially, where the page has more than 150,000 followers—facilitates discussions about sexuality and gender and disability that are often neglected by mainstream outlets.
The Prophets
Front cover of the Spanish edition of The Prophets
While his reputation was growing outside of Brooklyn College, Jones' day job was as a staff writer for the Brooklyn College Office of Communications and Marketing where he wrote for the BC Magazine and BC News. As a staff writer, Jones had a reputation for thoughtful pieces and careful research. His former colleague in the Office of Communications and Marketing Jamilah Simmons wrote,
"After sitting across from Robert for the better part of a decade, watching him build and expand on his social community, his brand, his thinking, and his writing, it's truly a pleasure to take in the success of his debut novel. In my time working with him, Robert was thoughtful, meticulous, funny, provocative, creative, efficient, and down-to-earth. That he dared to try to push forward the narrative around black history and LGBTQ issues underscores his bravery, intellect, and foresight. I really couldn't be happier for him."
The Prophets took Jones 13 years to complete and publish, in part because he was afraid. "I had no template, and I knew the opposition I was going to face," he said. "There's going to be a lot of pushback, because toxic masculinity is tied very deeply into this idea that homosexuality is the result of trauma."
Roni Natov, his former professor, wrote of Robert and his "extraordinary" novel,
He has managed to write about the horror of slavery with his exquisite prose—reflecting his sense of life as excruciatingly painful and unfair, and also sublime. His commitment to social justice is deep and inspiring. His spirit is fierce and gentle. It was a gift to teach him and it is a gift to know him, one of the loveliest people I've ever known.
Jones' debut novel has rocked the literary world and has been a best-seller since its January release. It has been reviewed, praised, and endorsed by such wide-ranging media outlets as the AARP magazine, The New York Times, the New Yorker, and National Public Radio. The book has already been printed in Spanish and is taking the international market by storm. The Prophets has been groundbreaking in terms of writing and emotion, as the author pours out his thoughts by telling the story we all need to hear. In terms of literary works, and growth through his writing, he is able to share his influence with others. Not only has Jones already touched the lives of many with his new novel, but it is clear that he has inspired his former colleagues and professors. We thank Robert Jones, Jr. for his powerful and influential way with words, and for his legacy he leaves at Brooklyn College. Speaking of legacy, Jones is a guest speaker at an upcoming Magner Career Center program on April 14. https://tinyurl.com/alumregister.
