Dr. Clarence B. Jones
His service to Martin Luther King, Jr. includes helping to draft the famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Born in 1931, Dr. Clarence B. Jones spent time in a foster home. He graduated from Columbia University, after being discharged from the military for refusing to sign a declaration that he had no ties to Communism. Jones later became a lawyer on King’s legal team and was his draft speechwriter. A trusted advisor of King's, Jones delivered the famed "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to the clergy in Birmingham in 1963. He acted as a negotiator during the Attica Prison Riots in 1971 at the request of Gov. Rockefeller and the inmates. He is an undeniably capable businessman, respected professor, activist, and author. He has received multiple awards, was the 1st African-American Allied member of the NYSE, co-wrote “Behind the Dream The Making of the Speech that Transformed a Nation”, and teaches the course “From Slavery to Obama” as visiting professor at the University of San Francisco.
