Photographic prints were created or collected by the Publications Department to illustrate the Peoples Forum newspaper and other printed materials, including newsletters, press releases, and mailers, which supported Peoples Temple’s fundraising, public relations, and community outreach activities. The Publications Department also supplied photographic prints, enclosed with press releases, to other news organizations, including Carlton Goodlett’s Sun-Reporter, an important voice in the San Francisco Bay Area African American community. This series also includes a very incomplete set of passport and membership photographs of Peoples Temple members; as well as two restricted folders of photographs of individuals who do not appear to be directly affiliated with the Temple. Subjects represented by the photographic prints include: Jim Jones and his family; church services and bus trips; marches and special events, including the Testimonial dinner; activists and political figures; and Jonestown.

The photographs in this series are the most curated images in the collection; many were printed for publication because of their strong public relations appeal. This series has several potential applications for the researcher and public. It documents the Publications Department’s marketing and outreach strategy, showing how images were used to animate the Temple’s political base to build community influence and recognition, and its religious base to build membership and funding sources. The series also documents the way Temple staff represented Jim Jones: leading services, as a family man with wife and children, and interacting with animals.