Posts Tagged ‘Quaker’
JONESTOWN SURVIVOR – What if Congressman Ryan had NOT visited Jonestown?
What if Congressman Ryan Had NOT Visited Jonestown? A question that comes up often, and did again today, from a researcher/friend, is: Would the deaths in Jonestown have happened without Congressman Leo Ryan's visit tipping Jim over the edge? Here are my 2 cents: Basically, there was a lot going on affecting Jonestown and Jim in the summer of 1978 - Jim was increasingly paranoid, mentally ill, isolated, and more addicted to drugs Jim learned that Jonestown would never be self-sufficient for the residents - 1,000 and another 1,000 waiting to come over - his original plan was for 600 but he oversold it. The ...
» continue readingJONESTOWN SURVIVORS at 40th Anniversary
Kohl Speech for 40th Anniversary It is wonderful to see everyone here. Some who could not make the trip are awaiting our photos and thoughts as well. When I reflect on my nearly 9 years in Peoples Temple, I feel that it was both one of the highlights and one of the deepest traumas of my life. When I was in Peoples Temple in both California and in Guyana, I felt committed to an idea, even a dream, that took me outside of my personal needs. I found a community that asked much of the members. I thought that I was making ...
» continue readingJONESTOWN SURVIVOR – Arkansas On-Line Article about my Arkansas Tech University Presentations
In 1978, 918 people died at the hands of cult leader Jim Jones, but Laura Johnston Kohl lived to tell By Francisca Jones This article was published April 14, 2018 at 4:30 a.m. PHOTO BY SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Jonestown survivors Laura Johnston Kohl (left) and Jordan Vilchez pause at the grave in Guyana devoted to the 918 people who lost their lives on Nov. 18, 1978. Johnston Kohl recounted her experiences as a member of Peoples Temple and her visit last month to Guyana during “Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid: Advice from a Jonestown Survivor” at Arkansas Tech University on April 5. Laura Johnston Kohl’s Guyana ...
» continue readingJONESTOWN SURVIVOR Appears on YouTube 03-29-2018
As a Jonestown Survivor, I was interviewed for a YouTube program for this program: an AfterWords to our Believers and Nonbelievers episode on “The Differences Between Cult and Religion.” The first link was the orignal discussion, which I was unable to participate in. The second link is my interview. Here are the two links: https://youtu.be/mY_F1RhtQBw https://youtu.be/W5zVOat-CZ0
» continue readingJONESTOWN SURVIVOR Visits U of Puget Sound in February, 2018
Jonestown Survivor Visit to U of Puget Sound on Monday, February 12, 2018: 9:15 meet host, Dr. Jeff Matthews at U of Puget Sound 10:00 first-year seminar (students will have just finished Jonestown paper) 11:00 first-year seminar (same as above) 12-2pm lunch/break 2:00 pm senior research class (wide-ranging discussion including research and writing process) 3-5 pm break 5:00-6pm campus presentation 6:30 pm dinner
» continue readingJonestown Survivor New Spring 2018 Calendar
Jonestown Survivor - Spring 2018 Here is my schedule for Spring 2018: December 14, 2017: Cal State University-San Marcos-Osher class in Murrieta December 28, 2017: 3-hour Radio Interview “Spaced Out Radio” January, 2018: Set up summer speaking events Feb. 11-13, 2018: Speaking in University of Puget Sound classes and Public Meeting March, 2018: Return trip to Guyana - Georgetown and Jonestown Cal State University-San Bernadino Osher in Palm Desert (3 classes) San Diego State University-Osher class April 4-6, 2018: Speaking at Arkansas Tech University - Anthropology classes Communal Studies Association - Conference Call Bay Area Book Festival in Berkeley And, I continue to teach 6th grade language arts in middle school. I ...
» continue readingUPDATED JONESTOWN SURVIVOR SCHEDULE – Fall 2017-Spring 2018
Jonestown Survivor Fall 2017 to Spring 2018 Activities - Update September 12 Skype Interview with Polish Journalist Piotr Wloczyk of Historia Do Rzeczy, the largest Polish history magazine October 3 (Tuesday) University of Cincinnati 9:30-11 2 classes - Conformity and Obedience Psychology Class, Speybroeck’s class, and a Stats/Research Methods Class, my host Dr. Brian Metcalf’s class. 2-3:20 Psychology Class on Cognition and Learning, Room: McMicken 127, in Valerie Hardcastle’s room 6-7:30 Presentation Understanding Jonestown and Peoples Temple, “Lindner Center 450,” 2751 O’Varsity Way, Cincinnati, OH October 6 Presentations at Communal Studies Association at the Zoar Community October 19, October 26, November 2, November 9 and November 16, ...
» continue readingJONESTOWN SURVIVOR – Current Schedule 2017-2018
Jonestown Survivor - Current Schedule Currently, I am writing my 2nd book. Additionally, I have these scheduled presentations: July 29, 2017 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm - I am attending: San Francisco’s Museum of African Diaspora White Nights, Black Paradise | A Screening and Discussion on Black Women, Peoples Temple and Jonestown August 8 - Panelist 10:30-12 (as a Quaker) 2017 Poway Interfaith Team putting on a 2017 NAIN “CONNECT” Conference, San Diego October 5-7 Presenter of two Scholarly Papers on Peoples Temple at Communal Studies Association Conference in Zoar Community, in Ohio 2017 Conference Theme: “To succeed, grow and survive, all successful communal groups have had ...
» continue readingJONESTOWN SURVIVOR Upcoming Class
Jonestown Survivor News - I have been asked to teach a 5-week OSHER Class here in San Diego. Here is the Course Outline: Selected History of the 1960s and 1970s Laura Johnston Kohl, Jonestown Survivor and Author, will present a 5-week study of selected United States History from the 1960s and 1970s. Each class will focus on a different aspect of those two decades. -1st class will review US History, beginning with the 1955 arrest of Rosa Parks, including the assassinations of five inspiring leaders in the 1960s, and ending in 1970. -2nd class will review the struggles for different national communities to gain ...
» continue readingJonestown Survivor Responds to New Inquiries
Jonestown Survivor Responds to Inquiries Earlier this month, I received this email from my website www.jonestownsurvivor.com - from the “Invite Laura to Speak” section. Since I don’t answer any Peoples Temple-related question with a “yes” or “no” answer, I try to give the questions some thought before I answer. I had quite a dialogue with these two students. They wrote: Hello, we wanted to talk to you about what happened in Jonestown and what you experienced there. We are writing a paper about the religion and we would like to ask some questions to a survivor who lived through it all. Thank you for ...
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