Shandy Jones

Shandy Wesley Jones (born in Alabama) was a member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 1868 to 1870 and the first African-American elected official from Tuscaloosa County.

Jones was born a slave, but emancipated as a youth and raised free in Tuscaloosa. He owned a barber shop that employed both freed blacks and slaves. He was elected to the state's Reconstruction congress in 1868, one of 26 black members of the House. He avidly supported the Enforcement Acts that sought to provide equal protection and freedoms for black citizens.

For his efforts he won the scorn of Ryland Randolph's Tuskaloosa Independent Monitor and harassment from the Ku Klux Klan. He fled to Moundville before relocating to Mobile, where President Grant appointed him to the customs inspections bureau. He also served as pastor of the Little AME Zion Church there for a 15 year span.

References

• Bailey, Richard ( ) Neither Carpetbaggers Nor Scalawags Black Office Holders during the Reconstruction of Alabama.
• Pinkard, Ophelia and Barbara Clark. Descendants of Shandy Wesley Jones and Evalina Love Jones.
• Boyd, Ashley (March 23, 2009) "Tuscaloosa County’s first black elected official honored." Tuscaloosa News