Diversity Scholar Visiting Professor
In a distinguished and heralded career, Clarence B. Jones served as speechwriter and counsel to Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1960 to 1968, partnered with Sanford I. Weill and Arthur Levitt, Jr., as an Allied Member of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), in the Wall Street investment banking firm Carter, Berlind & Weill becoming the “first Negro” on Wall Street, has been twice recognized as Fortune Magazine’s “Business Man of the Month,” and founded successful financial, corporate and media-related ventures. He has also provided strategic legal and financial consulting services to several governments around the world including The Bahamas, The Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Zambia. He has received numerous state and national awards recognizing his significant contributions to American society.
He is the co-author of “WHAT WOULD MARTIN SAY?” 2008, “BEHIND THE DREAM-The Making of the SpeechThat Transformed A Nation”, 2011 and an E-book, UPRISING: Understanding Attica, Revolution and the Incarceration State. He is currently co-writing a book, “Where Were You?” for the 50th Anniversary of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Dr. Jones posts a regular column in the Huffington Post. He is also writing his autobiography: “Memoirs of A Winter Time Soldier”.
Through his work in the civil rights movement, Dr. Jones has dramatically impacted the course of American history. He coordinated the legal defense of Dr. King and the other leaders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference against the libel suits filed against them and The New York Times by the police commissioner and other city officials of Birmingham, AL. The Supreme Court ruling in this case – Sullivan vs. The New York Times – resulted in the landmark decision on the current law of libel. In April 1963, he drafted the settlement agreement between the City of Birmingham and Martin Luther King, Jr. to bring about the end of demonstrations and the desegregation of department stores and public accommodations. In August 1963, he assisted Dr. King in the drafting of his celebrated “I Have A Dream” speech that he delivered at the March On Washington, August 28th 1963. In September 1971, he again found himself at the center of history-in-the-making when, at the request of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller, he was requested to help negotiate an end to the historic Attica prison inmate rebellion.
Dr. Jones has been the subject of numerous television and radio interview programs, appearing in such notable media vehicles as CNN, The O’Reilly Factor, The Tavis SmileyShow, NY1’s One-on-One with Budd Mishkin, NPR radio and BBC UK. A much requested speaker, he has addressed corporate audiences at Citigroup and the U.S. headquarters of British Petroleum, GE, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Google headquarters and laws firms such as Sullivan &Cromwell and Andrews Kurth.
Dr. Jones has been recognized for his illustrious career with honors awarded by a wide variety of distinguished organizations, including:
- Selected by Time Magazine in 1972 as one of 100 Future Leaders of America
- Twice selected by Fortune Magazine as “Business Man of The Month”
- Distinguished Public Service Award, African American Chamber of Commerce of Westchester and Rockland Counties
- Letter of Commendation from President William J. Clinton, for work in Birmingham, Alabama on behalf of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement
- Distinguished Honoree of New York’s Community Works Organization and subject of “The Long Walk To Freedom” performed by The Impact Theatre Repertory Company
- Isaiah Award for Lifetime Achievement, American Jewish Congress, New York, 2006
- Dream of Equality Honoree, Asian Americans For Equality, New York, 2006
- Silver Shingle Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession, Boston University Law School, 2006
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Black Sports Agent Association, New York, 2006
- Pioneer Award for Business Leadership by U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., 2006
- Stanford University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute’s Distinguished Public Service Award, 2007
- Guest of Honor, Office of the Mayor of Paris for the dedication of Public Park in Paris commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 2008
- Inductee, Walk of Fame, Martin Luther King Center, Atlanta, GA, 2008
- Featured Cover Story, January/February, Columbia College Today Alumni Magazine, 2008
- Keynote Speaker, Town Hall of Los Angeles, 2008.
- Holocaust Memorial Center, Detroit, 2009
- Museum of African American History, Detroit, 2009
- Keynote Speaker, Michigan State University’s Celebration of Black History Month, 2009
Dr. Jones has served on the prestigious boards of The Impact Repertory Theater & Dance Co. and The Theatre Development Fund NYC, the Franklin & Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in Hyde Park, NY.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College, Columbia University as well as a Juris Doctor degree from Boston University’s School of Law and a Certificate from The New York Institute of Finance and the NASD for his Allied Membership in the NYSE. Additionally, he has an Honorary Doctorate in Communications from Allegheny College in Allegheny, PA, Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters, Drew University, Madison, NJ, and University of San Francisco. Georgetown University’s John Thompson “Legacy of the Dream” Award, Kennedy Center for The Performing Arts, Washington, DC, 2012. He was a keynote speaker and participant The Twelfth Annual Herzliya Conference, Tel Aviv, Israel, 2012
He is currently co-managing General Partner, Halo Impact Innovation Private Equity Fund, Silicon Valley and an Executive Advisor to Marks, Paneth & Shron, LLP NYC.
Recently, Dr. Jones completed teaching for the second time his successful course, “From Slavery to Obama”, at Stanford University’s School of Continuing Studies Master of Liberal Arts Program. He has been invited by the University of San Francisco to be a Diversity Scholar Visiting Professor in the College of Arts and Sciences for the University’s 15 week fall Semester commencing August 21, 2012.
He currently resides in Palo Alto, CA where he continues to write and lecture.
