A woman who survived the Jonestown tragedy nearly 30 years spoke to students and the public at USI.
Laura Johnston Kohl spent 9 years in California and Guyana with Peoples Temple, the religious group led by Jim Jones.
WNIN asked her what drew her to Jones when she was a 22-year-old political activist. She said he was articulate and speaking to her favorite leaders of the time, including Angela Davis and Cezar Chavez.
Kohl says she was gathering supplies in Georgetown, Guayana – a day’s boat ride from the Peoples Temple compound in Jonestown – on November 18th 1978, when more than 900 people died from cyanide poisoning.
She was one of just 87 Temple members who survived the mass suicide.
Kohl said she now recognizes “red flags” that she didn’t see at the time, like no system for a successor to Jones and the move to a remote location far from people's families and friends.
Kohl spent 20 years recovering from the tragedy. She became a writer, a bilingual teacher, and a member of the Communal Studies Association.