Jones was born and raised in Cascade Heights, Atlanta,[7] by her parents Mack and Barbara Jones, who both participated in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Both of her parents went on to obtain PhDs in social sciences and became professors at Clark College.[8] Her father taught political science at Atlanta University, while her mother taught economics at Clark College.[9] Jones recalls growing up following the civil rights movement and becoming acutely aware of her race after being given books featuring black children and playing with black dolls.[10] Jones, whose name, Tayari, means 'she is prepared' in Swahili,[11] has two brothers and two half-sisters from a previous marriage of her father's.[12] Jones and her sisters were raised apart and they served as inspiration for Jones' novel Silver Sparrow.[13]
Jones was in elementary school during the Atlanta murders of 1979–1981 and described it as "the most significant event of my childhood."[14] Two of her classmates at Oglethorpe Elementary were murdered.[15][16] Jones's experience growing up during this time would serve as inspiration for her first novel, Leaving Atlanta (2002).[15]
After graduating from Benjamin Mays High School, Jones attended Spelman College, a historically black women's college in Atlanta.[17] During her time at Spelman, she studied under Pearl Cleage.[18] Johnnetta Cole, the first black female president of Spelman, also served as a role model for Jones.[19] She graduated from Spelman in 1991 and went on to complete a master's degree in English from the University of Iowa in 1994 and a Master of Fine Arts in fiction from Arizona State University in 2000.[8] She has received many fellowships, including from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, and United States Artists.[20]
