Before 8am this morning, my cell phone had several new text messages saying Mattie Jones had been ousted as interim director of the Justice Resource Center. The C-J did a piece covering some aspects of the story, but ignored the context in previous LEO articles.

Later this morning a press conference was held in front of the old Justice Resource Center headquarters on 16th & Maple streets. Would it be the Tennyson (the new JRC head) or Jones faction, no one seemed to know. I arrived first, too early — no one was around besides a gentleman sitting in his car waiting. Wearing an all-pearl cream-colored suit with flashy alligator shoes, he later told the press his name was ‘Action Jackson’. He rolled down the window, but before he could say anything, another vehicle approached. Mattie Jones was in the passenger seat and in the rear, Gracie Lewis.

“No, not him!” Gracie screamed, looking at me. They got out the car and Mattie insisted that she had sent no press release to LEO Weekly — and therefore, we weren’t allowed to cover the press conference.

“You’re no media,” Jones insisted. “Just a young uncle Tom.” It wasn’t long ago I was considered the biggest, baddest and blackest radical this side of town.

“You’re just a boy,” Lewis said.

Both were obviously furious that I had written an unflattering piece on Lewis’ recent troubles at the KY Alliance. Eventually, Jones’ son approached me saying he wasn’t going to be as nice and that he’d have to call his security force — which included a few ex-Marines — to remove me from the public street.

All this died down when the rest of the media arrived — back to the press conference.

Here’s the Jones side of the story: Apparently, a JRC Board meeting last Friday turned into a shouting match, with some claiming that Jones stormed out screaming her resignation.

“Mattie stormed out last Friday saying she resigned” said J.T. Woods, who was at the board meeting. According to Woods, the group held another meeting Monday, but when Jones didn’t show up, they decided to move foward without her, electing the Rev. James Tennyson, another longtime activist and close associate of the late Rev. Louis Coleman, as the new interim director.

Jones says she didn’t resign.

“I wrote no letter of resignation,” she said at the press conference. She said Friday’s meeting was raucous, filled with unknown persons who were not officially affliated with the JRC questioning her about her ability to lead. “I refused to sit through that disruption.”

Now the Jones faction is creating a new organization.

“This will be the new movement,” Jones said. No name, address, mission statement or mailbox, but they’re still asking for community support (prayers), volunteers and donations. Jones added that she will not relinquish her authority at the JRC either.

An open sore, the Jones-Tennyson conflict means we have a house divided over the legacy of the Rev. Louis Coleman, with two sides claiming to know his wishes, thoughts and direction posthumously. Coleman’s most well-known sidekick for decades, Jones is one of the original four JRC board members — along with Tennyson. (PB)