Cleveland Newell, born on July 12, 1955 in Mississippi, was a Peoples Temple member when his mother started to take him to meetings at the PT headquarters in Los Angeles, California during the 1970s. His family grew up poor in a rural community in Sharkey County. Both of his parents were sharecroppers and lived a very country-type lifestyle. It wasn’t until his sister and father found work in California that they moved there and were introduced to Peoples Temple. He also attended meetings in San Francisco after a while with his family, all becoming members.
During his time, around the age of 22, of being a member while in between Los Angeles and San Francisco, he became a part of the security force along with his brother Herbert. His role as security continued into Jonestown and was then referenced as the “angels.” Which had orders to watch over those who left Jonestown during the duration of time they were there. He also was a part of the basketball team, which was one of the reasons he survived the day of the massacre. A few days before the event the entire basketball team left for Georgetown including his brother Herbert. After the tragedy, he returned to the United States and was stopped by the FBI in New York.
There isn’t much on Cleveland’s life after returning to the U.S. It is known he planned to hop on a connecting flight to San Francisco after his return. It wasn’t until August 31, 2019, he passed away from undergoing surgery to fight his ongoing battle with cancer. He died at the age of 64.
Newell, H. (2019). A tribute to my brother Cleveland. Alternative Considerations of Jonestown Peoples Temple. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=92953
Serial 1644-1. Alternative Considerations of Jonestown Peoples Temple. (1979, January 8). Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=79026
Edwards, J. (2014, November 23). Sharkey native survived Jonestown. The Vicksburg Post. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://www.vicksburgpost.com/2014/11/23/sharkey-native-survived-jonestown/