Van Jones
| Van Jones | |
|---|---|
Jones in 2009
|
|
| Born |
Anthony Kapel Jones September 20, 1968 Jackson, Tennessee, United States |
| Education |
University of Tennessee at Martin Yale Law School |
| Occupation | Attorney, commentator, political activist |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Jana Carter |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | Official website |
Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones (born September 20, 1968) is an American activist, commentator, author and non-practicing attorney. He is a cofounder of several nonprofit organizations, including the Dream Corps, a "social justice accelerator" that operates three advocacy initiatives: #cut50, #YesWeCode and Green for All. He is the author of The Green Collar Economy and Rebuild the Dream, both ranking as New York Times bestselling books.
He served as President Barack Obama’s Special Advisor for Green Jobs, as a distinguished visiting fellow at Princeton University, and as a co-host of CNN’s political debate show Crossfire. He is president of Dream Corps and a regular CNN contributor. He is among activists featured in 13TH (2016), a documentary directed by Ava DuVernay about the US justice system and factors that have resulted in the over-incarceration of minorities and the highest incarceration rate in the world.
In 2004, Jones was recognized as a "Young Global Leader" by the World Economic Forum.Fast Company ranked Jones as one of the "12 Most Creative Minds in 2008." In 2009, Time magazine named Jones as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2010, he received the NAACP President's award.
Anthony Kapel Jones and his twin sister Angela were born in 1968 in Jackson, Tennessee, about 90 miles east of Memphis. Their mother Loretta Jean (nee Kirkendoll) was a high school teacher, and their father Willie Anthony Jones was a principal at a middle school. Jones' sister said that as a child, Anthony was "the stereotypical geek—he just kind of lived up in his head a lot."
Jones has said as a child he was "bookish and bizarre." His grandfather was a leader in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, and Jones sometimes accompanied him to religious conferences. He would sit all day listening to the adults "in these hot, sweaty black churches".
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