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Clarence B. Jones, a cardinal advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. who helped shape nan March connected Washington and assisted King successful drafting nan Civil Rights Movement leader’s “I Have a Dream” speech, has died. His family says nan lawyer and world “passed distant peacefully, surrounded by family, successful Cupertino, California” connected May 22. He was 95.
Jones is nan attraction of nan short documentary The Baddest Speechwriter of All, directed by two-time Oscar victor Ben Proudfoot and NBA superstar Stephen Curry, which won nan Grand Jury Prize at nan Sundance Film Festival successful January. The movie is expected to premiere later this twelvemonth connected Netflix.
In a statement, Jones’ family said, “Dr. Jones stood astatine nan halfway of nan modern American civilian authorities movement. From 1960 until Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination successful 1968, he served arsenic Dr. King’s individual attorney, draught speechwriter, advisor, and trusted friend. He helped draught nan opening of nan ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, smuggled nan pages of nan ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ retired of a Birmingham cell, was portion of nan ineligible squad successful nan landmark Supreme Court lawsuit New York Times v. Sullivan, and contributed to Dr. King’s ‘Beyond Vietnam’ reside astatine Riverside Church successful 1967. Later that year, Dr. Jones joined nan Wall Street finance banking patient Carter, Berlind & Weill, alongside Sanford I. Weill and Arthur Levitt Jr., who became lifelong friends, and was named nan first African American allied personnel of nan New York Stock Exchange.”
In 2024, Pres. Joe Biden awarded Jones nan Presidential Medal of Freedom, nan nation’s highest civilian honor. Jones taught astatine Stanford and nan University of San Francisco, wherever he co-founded nan university’s Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice. In 2022, nan institute honored Jones astatine a ceremonial attended by vocalist Joan Baez, lawyer and salient societal justness activistic Bryan Stevenson, among others.
“Our begetter lived a life of conscience,” Jones’ family wrote successful their statement. “He believed, until his last days, that an thought whose clip has travel is much powerful than nan march of immoderate army. We are grateful beyond words for nan love, nan prayers, and nan friendships that sustained him, and us, crossed this agelong and singular life.”
Jones is survived by his children, Christine T. Jones-Tucker (Edward), Alexia N. Jones, Clarence B. Jones Jr. (Kristen), Dana N.G. Jones, and Felicia E. Jones, and his longtime partner, Lin Walters.
As Deadline reported successful February, it was Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr who introduced Jones to Steph Curry, nan team’s all-star guard.
“[Jones] came and said to our squad years ago,” Kerr told us. “He’s from San Francisco and we invited him to travel speak to nan group and that was nan impetus down Steph’s thought to do nan documentary.”
Proudfoot, whose credits see nan Oscar-winning The Queen of Basketball (on which Curry served arsenic an executive producer) and Oscar victor The Last Repair Shop, provided a connection to Deadline exclusively.
“I cognize Stephen and I and nan full filmmaking squad are heartbroken for Clarence’s family astatine nan devastating nonaccomplishment of a awesome man,” Proudfoot wrote. “We are besides profoundly grateful to person had nan chance to sphere his unthinkable story. Clarence B. Jones started his profession arsenic an IP copyright lawyer successful Hollywood successful nan precocious 1950s. At nan time, he lived successful a beautiful location successful Altadena which miraculously survived nan fires past year. He was called to a life of intent by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself and bravely gave up his lucrative occupation successful Hollywood to give his life to group justice.”
Proudfoot added, “Let his communicative service arsenic an illustration of nan powerfulness we each person to make sacrifices and unrecorded lives of purpose.”
The family says a memorial and a nationalist ceremony of Jones’ life will beryllium held connected dates to beryllium announced.
