[Editor’s note: BB-10-l-1 – l-5 are copies of the same letter dated February 22, 1978, to Bay Area newspapers and magazines, including New West (l-1), the San Francisco Chronicle (l-2), San Francisco Examiner (l-3), the Sun Reporter (l-4), and Berkey Barb (l-5.)
P.O. Box 893
Georgetown, Guyana
February 22, 1978
New West
325 Pacific St.
San Francisco,
California
Dear Editor:
It’s regrettable that some of the press stories about Jim Jones’ work here in Guyana have given readers the wrong idea, I’m here as one the farm supervisors, along with about 1,000 other members of Peoples Temple. What is happening here is of great significance. The Americans, – mostly black and from backgrounds of hardship and deprivation – are showing the people of this developing little nation that “American” need not mean the hatred “yankee” stereotype of materialist or arrogant tourist. We’re pitching in right along with the rest of the nation in building a future for everyone. Kids off the streets of San Francisco are taking leadership roles. For the first time their lives have purpose, and they have found a meaningful identity that they couldn’t find in the “ghettos.”
The architect of it all is one of the most maligned and misunderstood people of the decade, Jim Jones. Someday his achievements will be appreciated, after the sensationalism and vendettas against him have played themselves out. San Francisco ought to be proud of its former Housing Chairman – he’s building a new society on one of the world’s last and most important frontiers, finding a future of hope. His work is appreciated here by the Guyanese, and everyone who has come to see this remarkable community in the middle of the tropical forests.
Sincerely,
/s/ Eugene B. Chaikin
Eugene B. Chaikin
Attorney-at-law