Jerry Jones says his “curiosity” is why he was on the wrong side of a 1957 photo picturing Arkansas school desegregation efforts.
The Cowboys owner, 80, chatted about the topic with reporters Thursday after a Washington Post feature came out detailing Jones’ life. The story led off with Jones, then a sophomore at North Little Rock High School, being among a group of white students attempting to block six black students trying to enter the school in 1957.
An Associated Press photo further backs up the proof, with a 14-year-old Jones being spotted among the angry crowd. The integration effort was a part of an ongoing process to desegregate schools in the South, which was headlined by the Little Rock Nine at Little Rock Central High School, just a few miles away from Jones’ former high school.
Jerry Jones was spotted in a 1957 photo showing him among a crowd of white students trying to block desegregation efforts. AP Photo/William P. Straeter“That was, gosh, 65 years ago… I didn’t know at the time the monumental event that was going on,” Jones told reporters after the Cowboys beat the Giants. “I’m sure glad that we’re a long way from that. I am. That would remind me: Just continue to do everything we can to not have those kind of things happen.”
Jones said he was told to not participate in the racist demonstration by a football coach but decided to attend anyways – something that eventually led to getting his “ass” kicked. The Cowboys owner also didn’t confirm if he regretted being among the group.
Jerry Jones said his curiosity was why he was in the photo. Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images“Nobody there had any idea, frankly, what was going to take place,” Jones said. “I’ve got a habit of sticking this nose in the right place at the wrong time.
“It is a reminder to me of how to improve and do things the right way. … I’m not cavalier about it. I’m genuine about it.”
