Jim Jones Massacre: 31 Years Since Jonestown Massacre

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People's Temple, San Francisco

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31th Anniversary of Jonestown Massacre

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November 18, 2009 marks the 31st anniversary of the Jonestown Massacre, a notorious mass suicide that saw cult leader Jim Jones convince more than 900 men, women and children to drink Kool-Aid laced with cyanide.

So how did Jamestown begin? The Jim Jones cult originally formed in in the 1950s under the name  The People's Temple. The People's Temple formed in Indianapolis believed in a form of apostolic socialism. The temple later moved to California, where it built substantial roots in San Francisco. At first, Jim Jones and his followers seemed to stand for noble goals such as racial integration. 

The dark of side of Jim Jones came out in a series of  newspaper articles by journalist Lester Kinsolving. After the Kinsolving pieces and the defection of eight members,  People's Temple leader Jim Jones convinced many of his most avid followers to join him in starting a commune in Northern  Guyana. The commune became known as Jonestown.

Jim Jones and his followers built a commune in Guyana and seemed to be welcomed by the local Guyanese government. In 1978, California congreesman Rep. Leo Ryan looked into Jonestown after being contacted by several frustrated family members of Jonestown members. Ryan and some journalists flew down to Guyana to look into Jonestown. Four days later, Jones asked his members to drink the poisoned Kool-Aid, one of the largest mass killing of US citizens in US history. 

Here is more information on the Jonestown Massacre. Here is a page that features actual audio of the Jamestown Massacre.