“King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones,” the untold story of the Chicago boss who built his $25 million empire from the Policy business, will have its official theatrical release on September 20 at Harper Court Theater, 5238 S. Harper Ave.
By exploring the rise and fall of the most famous Policy King of all time, Harriet Marin Jones, Edward Jones’ granddaughter, delves deep into her extended family’s past to tell this remarkable story of an African American who rose to the heights of financial and political prominence, reclaiming his legacy as a man fighting for respect in a racist society.
Edward, McKissack (Mack), and George Jones made up this empire, but the doc centers mostly on Edward.
Operating out of a Bronzeville office, the Jones’ brothers became very powerful. Quincy Jones, whose father once worked for Edward Jones, is featured in the documentary. He recalled that it was a thriving enterprise in the midst of such poverty for Chicago’s Blacks. “We were so poor that we ate fried rats for dinner. Everyone was hoping for a winning number.”
Gangster for some, hero for others in the 1930s and 40s, Edward Jones became one of the richest men in the U.S., thanks to the numbers game that was the precursor to the Illinois State Lottery. He went head to head with Al Capone and hobnobbed with artists like Josephine Baker and Duke Ellington.
In conflict with the mob and the Feds, he is forced into a life on the run. Love, success, violence, mafia, murder, betrayal, prison, kidnapping . . . Edward Jones’ story has all the best ingredients of gangster movies. Add segregation and you have a very explosive cocktail.
“Making this documentary allowed me to plunge into the history of the United States,” said Marin Jones.
Industry titans Quincy Jones and Debbie Allen serve as Executive Producers.
Advance tickets are available by searching: King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones (2024) Showtimes.