For eight grueling years, Royal Allen Jones labored in the darkness with shovels and picks, but he had faith that he would emerge to see the light. "I was a coal miner, and it was hard, dirty work," he once explained. "But I knew that I wanted to serve God, so I studied hard at night, always hoping to win my goal." After mining seams, he began saving souls. Jones was ordained a minister in 1893 and served as pastor of Akron's Second Baptist Church for nearly 50 years. As a civil rights leader, he advocated for better relations between races...
