Kyle Jones · Sewanee: Black Lives Matter Oral History Project

Interviewee/ Narrator

Kyle Jones

Interviewer

Kaila Seger

Date

November 27, 2023

Location of the Interview

Sewanee University Dormitory

Length

51 minutes, 48 seconds

Abstract

Kyle Jones was born on July 28th, 2003 in Nashville, Tennessee. He graduated from MLK Magnet High School in Nashville, Tennessee and is currently attending Sewanee, the University of the South to earn his degree in Economics. He has worked primarily in food service at McDonald’s, and behind the deli counter at a Smith’s Food and Drug. The interview starts off with some general questions, Kyle talking about where he is originally from, how where he currently lives is different from where he was raised, where he finds community today and as a child, who inspires him and why, what traveling he’s done, and how he’s experienced international cultures. The interview then moves on to dive into the Black Lives Matter Movement.

Kyle starts off with discussing how he receives the news mainly through social media. He then expands more on social media and how he uses it as a procrastination tool, something to just scroll through. He moves on to discuss race relations in the U.S, stating that they’re average in the sense that they’ve always been on the bad side. He then elaborates how race relations have gone up and down over time, forming an average that’s still not necessarily good. He discusses his first encounter with Black Lives Matter, citing social media in 2014/2015 and police brutality exposed on social media during that time as his first encounter. He then goes on to discuss how he sees the Black Lives Matter Movement as an overall positive thing, stating that at the core of it, they’re asking for equality. He then discusses how the Black Lives Matter Movement hasn’t really impacted his life, but goes into how his older brother did attend a protest held in Nashville and almost got arrested for being out past the set curfew, and how it has impacted his political views. He elaborates on the aforementioned statement, getting into how social media came into play, making him think more about the underlying message media has.

Kyle also discusses how the Black Lives Matter Movement has changed how he interacts with people of other races, trying to be more respectful and understanding towards other people. He also talks about how it's changed how he talks to certain friends, but not changing how he talks with his family. He touches on how despite being surrounded by people who share the same general consensus over political issues, there’s still enough individual diversity in others opinions that he doesn’t feel like he’s in an echo chamber. He then talks about which generation he thinks was the most affected by the Black Lives Matter Movement, settling in Gen Z, looping back to touch back on social media’s role in how Gen Z is the most affected generation. The conversation continues to discuss more of social media, its role in the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the pros and cons of having so much information available at the tips of our fingers.

Kyle closes his thoughts on Black Lives Matter Movement on how it has succeeded, getting awareness out there, also going into how it failed in a way by being so close to change, but then dropping off. He briefly discusses his community's reaction to the Black Lives Matter Movement, ending the interview by stating that he sees the future of the movement hinging upon a big upset to get it going again. The interview continues on, mostly off topic for a bit before coming to a formal close. This interview was conducted for the Black Lives Matter Oral History Project at Sewanee, the University of the South.