Editing Jonestown (section)

==Jonestown established==
===Selection and establishment of Guyanese land===
[[File:Jonestown cottages 2.jpg|thumb|Jonestown Cottages]]
In the fall of 1973, after critical newspaper articles by [[Lester Kinsolving]] and the defection of eight Temple members, Jones and Temple attorney Timothy Stoen prepared an "immediate action" contingency plan for responding to a police or media crackdown.<ref name="reiterman237">{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=237}}</ref> The plan listed various options, including fleeing to Canada or to a "Caribbean missionary post" such as Barbados or Trinidad.<ref name="reiterman237"/> For its Caribbean missionary post, the Temple quickly chose Guyana, conducting research on its economy and [[extradition]] treaties with the United States.<ref name="reiterman237"/> In October 1973, the directors of the Temple passed a resolution to establish an agricultural mission there.<ref name="reiterman237"/>

The Temple chose Guyana, in part, because of the group's own socialist politics, which were moving further to the [[political left|left]] during the selection process.<ref name="reiterman237"/><ref name="paranoia">[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919897-1,00.html ''Paranoia And Delusions''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910041607/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,919897-1,00.html|date=September 10, 2010}}, ''Time'', December 11, 1978</ref> Former Temple member Tim Carter stated that the reasons for choosing Guyana were the Temple's view of a perceived dominance of racism and multinational corporations in the U.S. government.<ref name="carter">{{cite web |last=Carter |first=Tim. |url=http://www.opb.org/radio/archives/2007/04/there_was_no_ch_1.php |title=Interview on Oregon Public Broadcasting Radio (Clip#3)|date=9 April 2007|publisher=OPB Radio |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070426045331/http://www.opb.org/radio/archives/2007/04/there_was_no_ch_1.php |archive-date=April 26, 2007}}</ref> According to Carter, the Temple concluded that Guyana, an English-speaking, socialist country with a government including prominent black leaders, would afford black Temple members a peaceful place to live.<ref name="carter"/>

Later, [[Prime Minister of Guyana|Guyanese Prime Minister]] [[Forbes Burnham]] stated that Jones may have "wanted to use [[cooperative]]s as the basis for the establishment of socialism, and maybe his idea of setting up a [[commune (intentional community)|commune]] meshed with that."<ref name="paranoia"/> Jones thought that Guyana was small, poor and independent enough for him to easily obtain influence and official protection.<ref name="reiterman237"/> He proved skillful in presenting the Guyanese government the benefits of allowing the Temple to establish a settlement in the country. One of the main tactics was to speak of the advantages of their American presence near Guyana's [[Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute|disputed border]] with Venezuela; this idea seemed promising to the Burnham government, who feared a military incursion by Venezuela.<ref>Poster 2019</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Poster|first1=Alexander|title=Jonestown: An International Story of Diplomacy, Detente, and Neglect, 1973–1978|journal=Diplomatic History|date=2019|volume=43|issue=2|page=307|url=http://web.a.ebscohost.com|access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref><ref>''Seconds From Disaster'', "Jonestown Cult Suicide", aired 5 November 2012</ref>

In 1974, after traveling to an area of northwestern Guyana with Guyanese officials, Jones and the Temple negotiated a lease of over {{convert|3,800|acres|ha}} of land in the jungle located {{convert|150|mi|km}} west of the Guyanese capital of [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]].<ref name="pbs">[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/timeline/timeline2.html ''Timeline: The Life and Death of Jim Jones''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219184320/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/timeline/timeline2.html|date=19 February 2009}} PBS.org. Retrieved 9 April 2007.</ref> In 1976, Guyana approved the lease (retroactive to April 1974).<ref name="raven340"/> The site, located near the disputed border with Venezuela, was isolated and had soil of low fertility.<ref name="raven340">{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=275}}</ref> The nearest body of water was {{convert|7|mi|km|spell=on}} away by muddy roads.<ref name="raven340"/>

=== Jonestown before mass migration ===
[[File:Jonestown Houses.jpg|thumb|Houses in Jonestown]]
As five hundred members began the construction of Jonestown, the Temple encouraged more to relocate to the settlement.<ref name="walliss">Walliss, John, ''Apocalyptic Trajectories : Millenarianism and Violence in the Contemporary World'', Oxford, New York, 2004, {{ISBN|0820472174}}{{page?|date=April 2025}}</ref> Jones saw Jonestown as both a "socialist paradise" and a "sanctuary" from media scrutiny.<ref name="hall293"/> Jones reached an agreement to guarantee that Guyana would permit Temple members' mass migration. To do so, he stated that they were "skilled and progressive," showed off an envelope he claimed contained $500,000 and stated that he would invest most of the group's assets in Guyana.<ref name="raven337"/> The relatively large number of immigrants to Guyana overwhelmed the government's small but stringent immigration infrastructure in a country where immigrants had outweighed locals.<ref name="raven337">{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=337}}.</ref> Guyanese immigration procedures were compromised to inhibit the departure of Temple defectors and curtail the [[travel visa|visa]]s of Temple opponents.<ref name="housereport">United States Congress House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Staff Investigative Group (1979) "The Assassination of Representative Leo J. Ryan and the Jonestown, Guyana, Tragedy. Report of a Staff Investigative Group to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. House of Representatives", U.S. Government Printing Office.</ref>

Jonestown was held up as a benevolent [[communism|communist]] community, with Jones stating: "I believe we're the purest communists there are."<ref name="q050">Jones, Jim. [http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27298 "Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 50."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170425072201/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27298|date=25 April 2017}} ''Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple''. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University.</ref> Jones' wife, Marceline, described Jonestown as "dedicated to live for socialism, total economic and racial and social equality. We are here living communally."<ref name="q050"/> Jones wanted to construct a model community and claimed that Burnham "couldn't rave enough about us, the wonderful things we do, the project, the model of socialism."<ref>Jones, Jim. [http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27599 "Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 833."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205013356/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27599|date=February 5, 2015}} ''Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple''. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University.</ref> He did not permit members to leave Jonestown without his express prior permission.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=451}}</ref>

The Temple established offices in Georgetown and conducted numerous meetings with Burnham and other Guyanese officials.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=274–275, 281}}</ref> In 1976, Temple member Michael Prokes requested that Burnham receive Jones as a foreign dignitary along with other "high ranking U.S. officials."<ref name="raven285">{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=285}}</ref> Jones traveled to Guyana with Dymally to meet with Burnham and Guyanese Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Willis.<ref name="raven285"/> In that meeting, Dymally agreed to pass on the message to the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] that Guyana wanted to keep an open door to cooperation with the U.S.<ref name="raven285"/> He followed up that meeting with a letter to Burnham stating that Jones was "one of the finest human beings" and that Dymally was "tremendously impressed" by his visit to Jonestown.<ref name="raven285"/>

Temple members took pains to stress their loyalty to Burnham's [[People's National Congress Reform|People's National Congress Party]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|1987|p=195}}</ref> One Temple member, Paula Adams, became romantically involved with Laurence "Bonny" Mann, Guyana's ambassador to the U.S. Jones bragged about other female Temple members he referred to as "public relations women" giving all for the cause in Jonestown.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=274–275, 418}}</ref><ref name=group>After the tragedy at Jonestown, Adams married Mann. On 24 October 1983, Mann fatally shot both Adams and the couple's child, and then fatally shot himself. (Weingarten, Gene. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011801434_5.html "The Peekaboo Paradox."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501131330/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011801434_5.html|date=1 May 2011}} ''The Washington Post''. January 22, 2006.)</ref> Burnham's wife [[Viola Burnham|Viola]] was also a strong advocate of the Temple.<ref name="paranoia"/>

Later, Burnham stated that Guyana allowed the Temple to operate in the manner it did on the references of Moscone, Mondale and Rosalynn Carter.<ref name="moore173">{{Harvnb|Moore|1985|pp=173–174}}</ref> He also said that, when Deputy Minister [[Ptolemy Reid]] traveled to [[Washington, D.C.]] in September 1977 to sign the [[Torrijos-Carter Treaties|Panama Canal Treaties]], Mondale, by this point the [[Vice President of the United States|U.S. Vice President]], asked him, "How's Jim?", which indicated to Reid that Mondale had a personal interest in Jones' well-being.<ref name="moore173"/>

=== Investigation and mass migration ===
{{Further|Peoples Temple in San Francisco}}
[[File:PTinGuyana Cen image001.gif|thumb|upright=1.6|Migration to Jonestown ([http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=35655 Migration figures after June 1978 are not known], Jonestown Report)]]
In the summer of 1977, Jones and several hundred Temple members moved to Jonestown to escape building pressure from San Francisco media investigations.<ref name="layton113">{{Harvnb|Layton|1998|p=113}}</ref> Jones left the same night that an editor at ''New West'' magazine read to him an article to be published by [[Marshall Kilduff]] detailing allegations of abuse by former Temple members.<ref name="layton113"/><ref>Kilduff, Marshall and Phil Tracy.[http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=14025 "Inside Peoples Temple."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217064220/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/AboutJonestown/PrimarySources/newWestart.htm|date=December 17, 2010}} ''Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple''. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University. August 1, 1977.</ref> After the mass migration, Jonestown became overcrowded.<ref name="raven390">{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=390–392}}</ref> Jonestown's population was slightly under 900 at its peak in 1978.

=== Jonestown life after mass migration ===
Many members of the Temple believed that Guyana would be, as Jones promised, a paradise or [[utopia]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|1987|p=133}}</ref> After Jones arrived, however, Jonestown life significantly changed.<ref name="raven390"/> Entertaining movies from Georgetown that the settlers had watched were mostly canceled in favor of [[Soviet propaganda]] shorts and documentaries on American social problems.<ref name="raven390"/>

Bureaucratic requirements after Jones' arrival sapped labor resources for other needs.<ref name="raven390"/> Buildings fell into disrepair and weeds encroached on fields.<ref name="raven390"/> School study and nighttime lectures for adults turned to Jones' discussions about revolution and enemies, with lessons focusing on Soviet alliances, Jones' crises and the purported "mercenaries" sent by Stoen, who had defected from the Temple and turned against the group.<ref name="raven390"/>

For the first several months, Temple members worked six days a week, from approximately 6:30&nbsp;a.m. to 6:00&nbsp;p.m., with an hour for lunch.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=322}}</ref> In mid-1978, after Jones' health deteriorated and his wife began managing more of Jonestown's operations, the work week was reduced to eight hours a day for five days a week.<ref name="carter"/> After the day's work ended, Temple members would attend several hours of activities in the settlement's central pavilion, including classes on socialism.<ref name="Layton 1998 53"/>

Jones compared Jonestown's work schedule to the North Korean system of eight hours of daily work followed by eight hours of study.<ref>Jones, Jim. FBI tape Q 320.</ref><ref>Martin, Bradley K. ''Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2004. {{ISBN|0312322216}}, p. 159.</ref> This also comported with the Temple's practice of gradually subjecting its followers to sophisticated [[Brainwashing|mind control]] and [[behavior modification]] techniques borrowed from Mao Zedong and [[Kim Il-sung]].<ref name="raven280">{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|pp=163–164}}</ref> Jones would often read news and commentary, including items from [[Radio Moscow]] and [[Radio Havana]],<ref name="manytapes"/> and was known to side with the [[Soviet Union|Soviets]] over the Chinese during the [[Sino-Soviet split]].<ref>See for example Jim Jones, [http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27358 Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 182] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205012159/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27358 |date=February 5, 2015}}. ''Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple''. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University. ".... in China, when their foreign policy's so bad, they ''still'' have self-criticism and group criticism. Unfortunately, not enough about their foreign policy. But in the Soviet Union, they have it.... The sale of nearly 30,000 pounds of copper to China has been announced by the Ministry of Mining in Industry of Chile. Another blunder of China's foreign policy, supporting fascist regimes... In spite of the beauty of China, what it's done domestically, getting rid of the rats, the flies... ''nothing'' justifies this kind of uh, inexcusable behavior. That's why we're pro-Soviet. That's why we stand by the Soviet Union as the avant-garde, because this is a ''hellish'' thing to do, to support one of the most brutal fascist regimes, who has tortured ''dark'' members{{snd}}the black members of its population, presently more than any other color on up to how white your skin determines your rank in Chilean society."</ref>

"Discussion" about current events often took the form of Jones interrogating individual followers about the implications and subtexts of a given news item, or delivering lengthy and often confused monologues on how to "read" certain events. In addition to Soviet documentaries, political thrillers such as ''[[The Parallax View]]'' (1974), ''[[The Day of the Jackal (film)|The Day of the Jackal]]'' (1973), ''[[State of Siege]]'' (1972) and ''[[Z (1969 film)|Z]]'' (1969) were repeatedly screened and minutely analyzed by Jones. Recordings of commune meetings show how livid and frustrated Jones would get when anyone did not find the films interesting or did not understand the message Jones was placing upon them.<ref name="manytapes"/>

Jonestown had a [[closed-circuit television]] system, but no one could view anything in the way of film or recorded TV, no matter how innocuous or seemingly politically neutral, without a Temple staffer present to "interpret" the material for the viewers. This invariably meant damning criticisms of perceived [[capitalism|capitalist]] propaganda in Western material, and glowing praise for and highlighting of [[Marxist–Leninist]] messages in material from communist nations.<ref name="manytapes">[https://web.archive.org/web/20150205014504/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=43837 "FBI Summaries of Peoples Temple Tapes Q 155, Q 160, Q 190, Q 198, Q 200, Q 203 and Q 242."] ''Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple''. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University.</ref>

Jones's recorded readings of the news were part of the constant broadcasts over Jonestown's tower speakers, such that all members could hear them throughout the day and night.<ref>"[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/filmmore/pt.html ''Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314080911/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/jonestown/filmmore/pt.html |date=March 14, 2009}}" (Documentary also airing on PBS including numerous interviews).</ref> His news readings usually portrayed the U.S. as a "capitalist" and "imperialist" villain, while casting "socialist" leaders, such as Kim,<ref name="q216">Jim Jones, [http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27379 ''Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 216''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205013606/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27379 |date=February 5, 2015}}. ''Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple''. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University.</ref> Stalin<ref name="q161">Jim Jones, [http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27349 ''Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 161''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205013922/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27349 |date=February 5, 2015}}. ''Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple''. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University.</ref> and [[Robert Mugabe]]<ref name="q322">Jim Jones, [http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27422 ''Transcript of Recovered FBI tape Q 322''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516162440/http://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=27422 |date=May 16, 2017}}. ''Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple''. Jonestown Project: San Diego State University.</ref> in a positive light.

Jonestown's primary means of communication with the outside world was a [[shortwave radio]].<ref name="moore292">{{Harvnb|Moore|1985|p=292}}</ref> All voice communications with San Francisco and Georgetown were transmitted using this radio, from mundane supply orders to confidential Temple business.<ref name="moore292"/> The [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) cited the Temple for technical violations and for using amateur frequencies for commercial purposes.<ref name="moore292"/> Because shortwave radio was Jonestown's only effective means of non-postal communication, the Temple felt that the FCC's threats to revoke its operators' licenses threatened Jonestown's existence.<ref name="moore293">{{Harvnb|Moore|1985|p=293}}</ref>

Because it stood on poor soil, Jonestown was not self-sufficient and had to import large quantities of commodities such as wheat.<ref name="hall236"/> Temple members lived in small communal houses, some with walls woven from [[Manicaria saccifera|Troolie palm]], and ate meals that reportedly consisted of nothing more on some days than rice, beans, greens and occasionally meat, sauce and eggs.<ref name="hall236">{{Harvnb|Hall|1987|p=236}}</ref><ref name="layton">{{Harvnb|Layton|1998}}</ref> Despite having access to an estimated $26&nbsp;million by late 1978,<ref>Reiterman, Tim, "Peoples Temple's $26 million financial empire", ''San Francisco Examiner'', January 9, 1979.</ref> Jones also lived in a tiny communal house, though fewer people lived there than in other communal houses.<ref name="layton"/> His house reportedly held a small refrigerator containing, at times, eggs, meat, fruit, salads and soft drinks.<ref name="layton"/> Medical problems, such as severe [[diarrhea]] and high fevers, struck half the community in February 1978.

Although Jonestown contained no dedicated prison and no form of [[capital punishment]], various forms of punishment were used against members considered to have disciplinary problems. Methods included imprisonment in a {{convert|6|x|4|x|3|ft|1|adj=on}} plywood box and forcing children to spend a night at the bottom of a [[Water well|well]], sometimes upside-down.<ref name="cnn_jones">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9811/18/jonestown.anniv.01/|title=Jonestown massacre + 20: Questions linger|publisher=CNN|access-date=April 9, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421021859/http://www.cnn.com/US/9811/18/jonestown.anniv.01/#2|archive-date=April 21, 2007}}</ref> This "torture hole", along with beatings, became the subject of rumor among local Guyanese.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reiterman|Jacobs|1982|p=502}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Layton|1998|p=176}}</ref> For some members who attempted to escape, drugs such as [[Thorazine]], [[sodium pentathol]], [[chloral hydrate]], [[Demerol]] and [[Valium]] were administered in an "extended care unit."<ref>King, Peter. [http://www.maebrussell.com/Jonestown/How%20Jones%20Used%20Drugs.html "How Jones used drugs."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417053452/http://www.maebrussell.com/Jonestown/How%20Jones%20Used%20Drugs.html |date=April 17, 2008}} ''San Francisco Examiner''. December 28, 1978. Archived.</ref><ref>{{cite news |editor1-first=David |editor1-last=Muir |editor1-link=David Muir |editor2-first=Kimberly|editor2-last=Godwin|publisher=[[American Broadcasting Company (ABC)]]|publication-place=[[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], United States of America|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|first1=Laura|last1=Effron|first2=Monica|last2=DelaRosa|first3=Muriel|last3=Pearson|title=40 years after Jonestown massacre, ex-members describe Jim Jones as a 'real monster'|date=26 September 2018|access-date=27 June 2021|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/40-years-jonestown-massacre-members-describe-jim-jones/story?id=57933856|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001152427/https://abcnews.go.com/US/40-years-jonestown-massacre-members-describe-jim-jones/story?id=57933856|archive-date=1 October 2018}}</ref> Armed guards patrolled the area day and night to enforce Jonestown's rules.

Children were generally surrendered to communal care, and at times were only allowed to see their biological parents briefly at night. Jones was called "Father" or "Dad" by both adults and children.<ref>[http://www.guyana.org/features/jonestown.html ''An Analysis of Jonestown''.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070426204301/http://www.guyana.org/features/jonestown.html |date=April 26, 2007}} Guyana.org. Retrieved April 9, 2007.</ref> The community had a nursery at which thirty-three infants were born.<ref name="reitermantimes">Reiterman, Tim, [https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19981118/2784066/for-those-who-were-there-jonestowns-a-part-of-each-day ''For Those Who Were There, Jonestown's A Part Of Each Day''], ''Los Angeles Times'', November 18, 1998</ref>

For a year, it appears the commune was run primarily through [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] checks received by members.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=35666|title=The Demographics of Jonestown|last1=Moore|first1=Rebecca|website=Alternative Considerations of Jonestown and Peoples Temple|publisher=San Diego State University|access-date=March 20, 2019}}</ref> Up to $65,000 in monthly welfare payments from U.S. government agencies to Jonestown residents were signed over to the Temple.<ref>{{Harvnb|Layton|1998|p=103}}</ref> In 1978, [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States|officials from the U.S. embassy]] in Georgetown interviewed Social Security recipients on multiple occasions to make sure they were not being held against their will.<ref name="pear">Pear, Richard. "State Explains Response to Cult Letters." ''Washington Star News''. November 26, 1978.</ref> None of the seventy-five people interviewed by the embassy stated that they were being held captive, were forced to sign over welfare checks or wanted to leave Jonestown.<ref name="pear"/><ref>Wessinger, Catherine. ''How the Millennium Comes Violently: From Jonestown to Heaven's Gate''. 2000. {{ISBN|978-1889119243}}.{{page?|date=April 2025}}</ref>

===Demographics===
[[African Americans]] made up approximately 70% of Jonestown's population.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=XuKB_2ll27wC&dq=%22Demographics+and+the+Black+Religious+Culture+of+Peoples+Temple%2C%22+in+Peoples+Temple+and+Black+Religion+in+America&pg=PA57 "Demographics and the Black Religious Culture of Peoples Temple," in Peoples Temple and Black Religion in America], edited by Rebecca Moore, Anthony Pinn and Mary Sawyer (Bloomington: Indiana Press University, 2005), p. 59.</ref> 45% of Jonestown residents were black women.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XuKB_2ll27wC&q=%22Demographics+and+the+Black+Religious+Culture+of+Peoples+Temple,%22+in+Peoples+Temple+and+Black+Religion+in+America&pg=PA57|title=Peoples Temple and Black Religion in America|last1=Moore|first1=Rebecca|last2=Pinn|first2=Anthony B|last3=Sawyer|first3=Mary R|date= 2004|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0253110831|page=58|language=en}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
|+ Jonestown Demographic Breakdown, 1977<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=35666|title=The Demographics of Jonestown – Alternative Considerations of Jonestown & Peoples Temple |access-date=March 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315114200/https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=35666|archive-date=15 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Figure-3.pdf|title=Figure 3 |access-date=27 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328040922/https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Figure-3.pdf|archive-date=28 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
!
! Female
! Male
! Total
|-
! Black
| style="text-align: right;" | 460
| style="text-align: right;" | 231
| style="text-align: right;" | '''691'''
|-
! White
| style="text-align: right;" | 138
| style="text-align: right;" | 108
| style="text-align: right;" | '''246'''
|-
! Mixed
| style="text-align: right;" | 27
| style="text-align: right;" | 12
| style="text-align: right;" | '''39'''
|-
! Other
| style="text-align: right;" | 13
| style="text-align: right;" | 10
| style="text-align: right;" | '''23'''
|-
! Total
| style="text-align: right;" | '''638'''
| style="text-align: right;" | '''361'''
| style="text-align: right;" | '''999'''
|-
|}
<!--
This is my first wiki table... original text below, however note that one of the percentage values shown below is incorrect. --ashleedawg
* Black female = 460 (45%)
* Black male = 231 (23%)
* White female = 138 (13%)
* White male = 108 (11%)
* Mixed female = 27 (3%)
* Mixed male = 12 (1%)
* Other female = 13 (1%)
* Other male = 10 (1%)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=35666|title=Archived copy|access-date=27 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315114200/https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=35666|archive-date=15 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Figure-3.pdf|title=Archived copy|access-date=27 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328040922/https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Figure-3.pdf|archive-date=28 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
-->