ABilly S. Jones-Hennin
Jones-Hennin in 2023
Born	Lannie Bess (1942-03-21)March 21, 1942 St. John's, British Leeward Islands
Died	January 19, 2024(2024-01-19) (aged 81) Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Nationality	American
Other names	Allen Billy Scott Jones
Alma mater	Virginia State University Howard University
Spouse	Chris Hennin (2014–)
Children	3

ABilly S. Jones-Hennin (March 21, 1942 – January 19, 2024) was an American LGBT rights activist based in Washington, D.C.

Beginning in the late 1970s, Jones-Hennin was active in African-American LGBT organizing, helping to found a number of groups, and acted as the logistics coordinator for the first March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1979. In the 1980s, he was involved with HIV/AIDS education and helped to develop healthcare programs with the Whitman-Walker Clinic.

From the 1990s until his death, Jones-Hennin became involved with disability activism, speaking specifically about homophobia in healthcare settings.

Early life and career

Jones was born Lannie Bess in St. John's, Antigua. ^{[1] [2]} He was adopted at age 3 by American civil rights activists ^[2] and raised in Richmond, Virginia, with the name Allen Billy Scott Jones. ^[1] He was raised alongside nine other adopted children in a home that his physician father turned into a "rehab and nursing center". ^[1] As a teenager in the 1950s, he participated in lunch counter sit-ins, and, in 1963, he attended the March on Washington. ^[1] After graduating from high school, he was briefly involved with the U.S. Marine Corps. ^[3]

In college, he protested against the Vietnam War. ^[3] In 1967, he graduated from Virginia State University with a degree in business and accounting. ^{[1] [2]} Later in life, he earned a master's degree in social work at Howard University. ^{[1] [2]} Jones-Hennin worked as a qualitative researcher. ^[4]

Activism

In 1978, Jones cofounded the National Coalition of Black Gays (NCBG) in Columbia, Maryland; the organization was the first national advocacy group of its kind for gay and lesbian African Americans. ^{[2] [1]} In 1979, he was the logistics coordinator for the first March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights ^{[1] [5]} and helped organize the National Third World LGBT Conference at Howard University that same weekend. ^{[1] [2]} That same year, the NCBG organized the first delegation of gay people of color to meet with Presidential representatives, of which Jones was a member. ^{[1] [6]}

Jones also founded the Gay Married Men's Association (GAMMA), co-founded the D.C. chapter of Black and White Men Together, ^[3] and founded the D.C. Coalition of Black Gays in April 1978. ^{[1] [5] [7] [8]} In the 1980s, Jones was a founding member of the Langston Hughes- Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club, an alternative to the Gertrude Stein Club. ^{[3] [6]}

Jones and his then-partner, Chris Hennin, worked with the Whitman-Walker Clinic during the HIV/AIDS crisis to develop healthcare programs, educate the public on the illness, and provide support to those diagnosed. ^{[1] [3] [5] [6] [8]} In August 1989, he was made head of the Minority Aids Program in Washington D.C. ^[9]

In the 1990s, Jones pivoted towards disability activism as he faced his own heath problems of spinal stenosis. ^[1]

In spring 2007, the Rainbow History Project named Jones-Hennin a " Community Pioneer," RHP's most prestigious award. The RHP archives include a 1999 oral history interview with Jones, conducted by Genny Beemyn for their 2015 book "A Queer Capitol: A History of Gay Life in Washington, D.C." as well as a second 2004 interview.

In 2007, Jones was the chair of the DC Mayor's LGBT Advisory Committee. ^[6]

Jones-Hennin remained involved with activism and local politics ^[10] and spoke out about homophobia in healthcare in his later years. ^{[4] [10]}

Personal life

Jones realized he was attracted to men early in his life and initially identified as gay, but chose to marry a woman on the advice of his father. ^{[2] [8]} He and his wife, who lived in Columbia, Maryland, had three children, but separated after seven years. ^{[2] [5]} He maintained joint custody of his children, who remained supportive of him throughout his life. ^[8] After the separation, Jones moved to Washington D.C. in 1977; ^[3] it was in D.C. that he began identifying as bisexual. ^[2] By 2022, he also identified as queer. ^[8] His parents remained supportive of him throughout his life, and after his father's death, Jones learned he had also been bisexual. ^[1]

In the late 1970s, Jones met his partner and later husband Chris Hennin through the Gay Married Men's Association. ^{[2] [5] [8]} The two married in 2014. ^[1]

The A in Jones-Hennin's first name came from a godparent's initial; he chose to capitalize the first two letters of his name. ^[5] Jones changed his surname to Jones-Hennin in 2008. ^[5]

Jones-Hennin died due to complications from Parkinson's disease and spinal stenosis at his winter home in Chetumal, Mexico on January 19, 2024. He was 81. ^[1]

References