Doris W. Jones Family Resource Building

Doris W. Jones was one of the many Alabama natives who moved to Niagara Falls during the Second Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North. Her parents, Rosie and Rufus Jones, moved to the city in 1943 when Jones was nine. Perhaps, like other Black migrants, one or both of her parents were enticed with the promise of good wages from factory work. 

For over 41 years, Jones made it her personal mission to improve the quality of life for public housing residents in Niagara Falls. As a long-term public housing resident herself, she likely had firsthand experience with the overcrowding, substandard living conditions, and housing discrimination that other African Americans faced in the Falls. 

In 1976, Jones was elected to the Niagara Falls Housing Authority Board of Commissioners where she served for over 25 years. During that time, she “successfully initiated a variety of programs” for youth and several “job development and training programs” for adults. She also “developed numerous partnerships with local community agencies and organizations.”

Over the years, Jones was publicly recognized for her tireless activism against housing discrimination. In 1991, the Housing Authority opened the Doris Jones Family Resource Center in the historically Black neighborhood of Highland Avenue. The facility was established in “response to a growing community need for educational, recreational and self-sufficiency programming.” 

In 1992, Jones was inducted into the Housing Authority’s “Wall of Fame” and in 1998 she was awarded the “Heroes of Public Housing” Award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2002, the Housing Authority again honored her with the MLK Jr. Civil Rights Award. Those who knew Jones described her as “a strong voice” for the community and a “tenacious fighter […] even in the face of strong adversity and opposition.”

Jones died in 2002 following a brief illness. Soon after, the Housing Authority established a memorial scholarship in her name. From 2003 to the present, the scholarship has been awarded to Niagara Falls High School students who demonstrate “leadership, community service, and a commitment to excellence.” 

Today, the Doris W. Jones Family Resource Building (as it’s now known) offers a number of programs and services, including job-related assistance, educational classes and programs, and general recreational activities and sports. The award-winning facility “has a 226-seat theater, banquet hall, gymnasium, locker room, multi-purpose rooms, commercial kitchen, library, and computer training lab.” Like the woman it is named for, the facility has greatly impacted the city and residents of Niagara Falls.

Hope L. Russell, Ph.D.