Kimberly Jones
Kimberly Jones
Kimberly Jones is a resident of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Personal Life
She is a mother of Keaton Jones and Lakyn Jones-Bell. Shawn White is the estranged father of Keaton Jones.
In the Media
On Friday December 8, 2017, Jones posted an impassioned video plea against bullying which her son Keaton had made to her personal Facebook account, where it went viral across social media.
In the video, Keaton stated other students call him ugly, make fun of his nose and tell him he has no friends.
He stated milk was poured on him and ham was put down his clothes.
“Just out of curiosity, why do they bully?” Keaton said. “What’s the point of it? Why do they find joy in taking innocent people and find a way to be mean to them? It’s not OK."
“People that are different don’t need to be criticized about it.
It’s not their fault.
If you are made fun of, just don’t let it bother you.”
The video garnered an enormous outpouring of support from famous actors, athletes, musicians and journalists.
Controversy
After many black celebrities supported her son, it was discovered that Kimberly had made Facebook posts disparaging the Black Lives Matter movement. Keaton posted on Instagram apologizing for his mom's actions.
In photos she made public on Facebook, she is paying homage to the Confederate flag. One photo shows a Kimberly smiling posing with a Confederate flag. Another picture shows Keaton and his siblings posing with the U.S. flag and the Confederate flag.
A GoFundMe campaign titled "Stand up for Keaton" was started by a man named Joseph Lam.
A spokesman for GoFundMe described Lam as a stranger who wanted to help Keaton after the video was posted online.
The campaign had raised $57,484 of the initial $20,000 when it was suspended due to allegations of racism against Kimberly.