Clarence B. Jones, former speechwriter and attorney for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom on May 3 at the White House, among a group of 19 distinguished individuals recognized by President Joe Biden in Washington. Notably, Jones was accompanied by several other Catholic honorees.
At 93 years old, Jones was among the recipients of the nation’s highest civilian honor, alongside individuals such as gang interventionist Jesuit Fr. Greg Boyle, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, former Secretary of State John Kerry, and seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky. The late civil rights icon Medgar Evers was also honored posthumously.
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Expressing gratitude for the recognition, Jones stated on May 3, “It has been the greatest honor of my life to work closely with Dr. King and to do my best every day to carry forward his legacy. Today, I am grateful to receive this honor for continuing to support his work.”
Raised in part by Catholic nuns at Holy Providence, a Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament boarding school in Pennsylvania, Jones pursued education at Juilliard and Columbia before embarking on a career as a lawyer, finance executive, and eventually becoming the first Black American on the New York Stock Exchange.
Jones played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement, assisting King in various capacities, including helping to draft the landmark “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963. He also aided in protecting King’s copyright privileges to the iconic speech.
During the ceremony, President Biden acknowledged Jones’s significant contributions, stating, “Jones wielded a pen as a sword and gave words to the movement that generated freedom for millions of people. He helped define the enduring ideas included in the ‘Dream’ that will be ever forever engraved in the ethos of America.”
Following King’s passing, Jones continued his activism, serving as a negotiator during the Attica Prison Riot in 1971. He later co-founded the Institute for Nonviolence and Social Justice at the University of San Francisco, where he retired in 2021.
Jones, the third Black Catholic to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Biden, joins a distinguished list of individuals recognized for their leadership and service to the nation. As the White House stated, these honorees exemplify the power of community, hard work, and service in shaping America for the better.
