A Case for Mary Jones

A Case for Mary Jones

When you think of Black innovators, your mind probably wanders to the same twenty inventors, civil rights leaders, and entrepreneurs that you have been taught since your second-grade class with Ms. Johnson. This is not an indictment of you personally, but more so the failings of an entire system that fits the spectrum of Black history (AKA American History) into the shortest month of the year. Of course, to create a non-offensive, precisely packaged slice of history, you must select the highlights, but it's the footnotes between the margins that tell the untold stories. For this tidbit of tucked-away history, you must delve far into the recesses of a little-known 1836 New York City pick-pocketing case.

The Trial of Mary Jones

In Love Stories: Sex Between Men Before Homosexuality, historian Jonathan Ned Katz details the encounter that brings our leading person to the forefront. Katz details how a master mason met Robert Haslem met Mary Jones. Jones was walking down the street elegantly dressed when Haslem asked if he could escort her. She/ he complied, then she affectionately wrapped her arms around him. They walked to the alley of the well-known prostitution hub, Greene Street. After they shared relations, Jones enthusiastically hugged Haslem again before parting ways. After their interaction, Haslem found that his wallet with the sum of $99 ($2,784.58 today) was missing in replacement was the wallet of another gentleman who had a $200 personal check.

Haslem proceeded to find the gentleman who was embarrassed and too ashamed to go forward. Haslem reported the incident to the police the next morning. Once Constable Bowyer found Jones, she/ he tried to throughout other wallets in her possession. Once she/ he was locked away, they found numerous wallets in her/his apartment of primarily white prominent men.

While in custody, Bowyer searched Jones and discovered that she/he was born male. According to the Sun, Jones was "neatly dressed in female attire, and his head covered with a female wig," according to the Sun.

Throughout the trial, Jones revealed that the colored community accepted her/ him in women's clothing and that her/ his birth name was Peter Sewally. Other than prostitution, Jones was a cook and waiter and has once been in the service.

After a few moments of deliberation, the jury found her/him guilty of grand larceny. Jones was then sentenced to five years of prison.

The Significance

Many may question why Jones deserves a spot amongst the Black innovators that you already belove and know so well. Well, the answer to this query is both simple and complex. The simple answer is because she/he utterly existed. She/ he existed in a slaveholding America, and She/he did so honestly. If that's not a maverick's courage, I'm not sure what is.

Now for the complexities. Jones was a prostitute and a thief. For many, that would be enough to write her/him off as a forefather/ foremother to Joanne, the Scammer; however, it is the same system that relegates these two as dregs of society, that elevates the virtue of Robin Hood. Did Jones not cleverly rail against an oppressive, unjust system? Did she/he not use the same ropes meant to constrict her/him and those like her/him to lasso and trip up her/his oppressor?

It's necessary to remind the reader that the world that Jones existed in was the same one that allowed Sarah Baartman to be prodded and paraded around Europe 25 years, only to be sold eventually to an animal trainer. Jones existed in a world where white men had complete control of Black bodies, and yet she/he still found a way to beat them.

Even when caught, she/ he boldly sat in her/ his truth:

they induced me to dress in Women's Clothes, saying I looked so much better in them and I have always attended parties among the people of my own Colour dressed in this way -- and in New Orleans, I always dressed in this way

This trailblazing revelation allowed and made space, if even for a moment, for groups that were defined solely in the context of white patriarchy.

The Lessons

I believe we all can take lessons from Jones' story. These were the most pertinent to me.

Do you boo.

When you stand in your most authentic light, somehow you will find a way to survive.

It's not scamming if it's already rigged.

I think this one is self-explanatory

Not all heroes wear capes.

Although Jones may have never intended to inspire and to some, she/ he may be long forgotten, he/she showed me that authenticity is not time-sensitive. You can live in your truth RIGHT NOW. No matter the oppression or the sentiments, hold and create space for yourself.

The Legacy

After his/her prison sentence, Jones continued to dress in women's attire and was arrested again in 1846. Although gender identity/ sexual orientation remains unconfirmed, I believe that he/ she planted a beacon for those to come. She/ he is the ancestor whose shoulders I stand on.