Historical Information (dates, people, laws, key facts) ALL
November 18, 1978, 909 people died in a ‘mass-suicide’ in Jonestown, Guyana
These 909 people, which included over 200 children, were members of the People’s Temple, a religious group led by Jim Jones
Background info on People’s Temple
Jim Jones founded the People’s Temple, a Christian cult, in the 1950s in Indianapolis, Indiana and later moved his church to San Francisco, California.
He preached socialist, utopian ideals and spoke against racism, which attracted many African-Americans to his church, resulting in an interracial congregation which was very rare at the time. He also attracted many homeless individuals to the People’s Temple with the promise of equality, food, and housing. …show more content…
Modern Day Consequence (How is your event remembered today? Has your event inspired important changes to American society/history? Any modern-day parallels?) KENDRA
Significant today because it is the LARGEST “mass suicide” in world history, and it was the greatest single non-military and non-natural group death of US citizens prior to the terrorist bombing on September 11th 2001.
There is a memorial for the Jonestown Massacre victims at Evergreen Cemetery, located in Oakland, California. This memorial does include Jim Jones, which many people disagree with. Although Jonestown is often remember and considered tragic, when looking at the bigger picture, the same thing is playing out right now amongst us. We still believe that somebody else is going to fix our problems, and build a utopia for us. All we have to do to make this happen is elect the “right” people, follow the “right” person, and get ready to move in. Until we as a society are able let go of this belief and attitude, the mindset of these events will continue. Although Jonestown occurred 40 years ago, cults like the People’s Temple still
November 18, 1978, 909 people died in a ‘mass-suicide’ in Jonestown, Guyana
These 909 people, which included over 200 children, were members of the People’s Temple, a religious group led by Jim Jones
Background info on People’s Temple
Jim Jones founded the People’s Temple, a Christian cult, in the 1950s in Indianapolis, Indiana and later moved his church to San Francisco, California.
He preached socialist, utopian ideals and spoke against racism, which attracted many African-Americans to his church, resulting in an interracial congregation which was very rare at the time. He also attracted many homeless individuals to the People’s Temple with the promise of equality, food, and housing. …show more content…
Modern Day Consequence (How is your event remembered today? Has your event inspired important changes to American society/history? Any modern-day parallels?) KENDRA
Significant today because it is the LARGEST “mass suicide” in world history, and it was the greatest single non-military and non-natural group death of US citizens prior to the terrorist bombing on September 11th 2001.
There is a memorial for the Jonestown Massacre victims at Evergreen Cemetery, located in Oakland, California. This memorial does include Jim Jones, which many people disagree with. Although Jonestown is often remember and considered tragic, when looking at the bigger picture, the same thing is playing out right now amongst us. We still believe that somebody else is going to fix our problems, and build a utopia for us. All we have to do to make this happen is elect the “right” people, follow the “right” person, and get ready to move in. Until we as a society are able let go of this belief and attitude, the mindset of these events will continue. Although Jonestown occurred 40 years ago, cults like the People’s Temple still