The New York Times reported that, in 1953:
[D]eclaring that he was outraged at what he perceived as racial discrimination in his white congregation, Mr. Jones established his own church and pointedly opened it to all ethnic groups.
To raise money, he imported monkeys and sold them door to door as pets.

In 1960, Indianapolis Mayor Charles Boswell appointed Jones director of the local Human Rights Commission.
Jones ignored Boswell's advice to keep a low profile, however, finding new outlets for his views on local radio and television programs.
The mayor and other commissioners asked him to curtail his public actions, but he resisted.
He was wildly cheered at a meeting of the NAACP and Urban League when he yelled for his audience to be more militant, and then climaxed with, "Let my people go!"

During this time, Jones also helped to racially integrate churches, restaurants, the telephone company, the Indianapolis Police Department, a theater, an amusement park, and the Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital.
Swastikas were painted on the homes of two black families, and Jones walked through the neighborhood comforting local black people and counseling white families not to move.
He set up sting operations to catch restaurants refusing to serve black customers and wrote to American Nazi leaders, passing their responses to the media.
He was accidentally placed in the black ward of a hospital after a collapse in 1961, but refused to be moved; he began to make the beds and empty the bedpans of black patients.
Political pressures resulting from Jones' actions caused hospital officials to desegregate the wards.

Jones received considerable criticism in Indiana for his integrationist views.
Likewise, white-owned businesses and locals were critical of him.
A swastika was placed on the Temple, a stick of dynamite was left in a Temple coal pile, and a dead cat was thrown at Jones' house after a threatening phone call.
Other incidents occurred, but one could theorize that Jones himself was involved in at least some of them.
The New York Times reported that, in 1953:
[D]eclaring that he was outraged at what he perceived as racial discrimination in his white congregation, Mr. Jones established his own church and pointedly opened it to all ethnic groups. To raise money, he imported monkeys and sold them door to door as pets.
In 1960, Indianapolis Mayor Charles Boswell appointed Jones director of the local Human Rights Commission. Jones ignored Boswell's advice to keep a low profile, however, finding new outlets for his views on local radio and television programs. The mayor and other commissioners asked him to curtail his public actions, but he resisted. He was wildly cheered at a meeting of the NAACP and Urban League when he yelled for his audience to be more militant, and then climaxed with, "Let my people go!"
During this time, Jones also helped to racially integrate churches, restaurants, the telephone company, the Indianapolis Police Department, a theater, an amusement park, and the Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital. Swastikas were painted on the homes of two black families, and Jones walked through the neighborhood comforting local black people and counseling white families not to move. He set up sting operations to catch restaurants refusing to serve black customers and wrote to American Nazi leaders, passing their responses to the media. He was accidentally placed in the black ward of a hospital after a collapse in 1961, but refused to be moved; he began to make the beds and empty the bedpans of black patients. Political pressures resulting from Jones' actions caused hospital officials to desegregate the wards.
Jones received considerable criticism in Indiana for his integrationist views. Likewise, white-owned businesses and locals were critical of him. A swastika was placed on the Temple, a stick of dynamite was left in a Temple coal pile, and a dead cat was thrown at Jones' house after a threatening phone call. Other incidents occurred, but one could theorize that Jones himself was involved in at least some of them.
Jim Jones