UTM, CNN, the Obama Administration, Yale Law School and the New York Times best seller list while all very different, have a common denominator: Van Jones.
He was born Anthony Kapel Jones, but chooses to go by Van. Jones, a Jackson, Tenn. native and son of Willie and Loretta Jones, graduated from UTM in the spring of 1990. Jones has since married Jane Carter, and together, they have two sons.
While double majoring in Communications and Political Science, Jones became heavily involved on campus.
“There wasn’t much they had on this campus that I didn’t try to get into,” Jones said.
He was involved in Student Government all four years, was vice-president of his dorm his freshman year, worked for The Pacer and eventually became the executive editor.
“Being Editor of The Pacer was my first real opportunity to lead a team. Everything I do today I learned being a student here, being a part of the Communications Department. Being Editor of The Pacer, I learned to write and to fight. To write clearly with concision and force and also not to be afraid to challenge the administration or the Greek system, if I thought there was a good cause,” Jones said.
Dr. Jerald Ogg, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, says there were a few things that helped Jones stand out while he was a student at UTM. Ogg served as the faculty adviser to The Pacer while Jones was the editor, and Ogg was also his academic adviser.
“What made Van stand out more than anything else were his off-the-charts passion and curiosity. I’m proud, and not surprised, he’s done so well, but I’m even prouder he continues to find the time to return and support the Communications Department,” Ogg said.
Jones says that although UTM may not be the most famous campus in the country, let alone the state, he encourages students at UTM to appreciate their time spent at the university.
“[UTM] has a very strong program and strong hands-on faculty. If you are here, you should take advantage,” Jones said. “You can go to more famous schools where the teachers don’t even know your name, let alone take an active interest in your future success. All of the faculty who are here are here because they really want to teach, and they really want to help students. … On fancier campuses, the professors are sometimes more interested in their own careers than they are in your career. This is not true at UT Martin.”
During his time at UTM, Jones made a lasting impression on his professors as well as the faculty on the UTM campus.
“After Van rose to national prominence as the ‘green energy czar’ for President Obama, I checked my grade books from the period when he was a student at UTM to confirm my recollection that he had taken a sophomore literature survey with me. I found his name and saw that, predictably, he had done excellent academic work – as I’m sure he did in most or all of his classes [at UTM,]” said Neil Graves, a professor of English and Modern Foreign Language. “We all know that our best and brightest at UTM, if they work hard, can hold their own in any arena at any level of prominence and public scrutiny. Like Pat Head Summitt, Van Jones has helped put UT Martin on the national map.”
Jones’ recent visit to the UTM campus also left lasting impressions on current UTM students and UTM alumni.
“Amazing Keynote Address by Van Jones today at UT Martin’s Communications Awards Banquet! You can get to anywhere you want to go from the UT Martin Department of Communications! Wow, he is proof of that! What an inspiring story. It all starts with taking a complicated story – and making it simple and easy to understand. Now he is changing lives and making the world a better, safer place. We all need to be more like Van!” said Mandy Hinson, a UTM alumna.
While Jones was attending UTM, he interned at The Jackson Sun in Jackson, Tenn. and The Shreveport Times in Shreveport, La.
Following his graduation from UTM, Jones packed his car and headed to Yale Law School. He made the change from an anticipated career in the media to a law career because of his experience during one of his internships.
“When I went to Shreveport, La. in the summer of 1989, I saw a lot of discouraging stuff. I saw a lot of poverty; I saw a lot of racial strife. I didn’t feel like the newspaper I was working for was making things any better. In fact, I felt like the newspaper was making things worse. I felt at that time that maybe lawyers could do something more than reporters could. It’s funny because I’m back in media now,” Jones said.
Jones has made it a life mission to be a change in the world; he co-founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Green for All, Color of Change and Rebuild the Dream.
“Whether criminal justice issues with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights; environmental justice issues with Green for All; or economic justice issues with Rebuild the Dream, I have tried to take on some of the toughest issues of my time and tried to make some contribution,” Jones said. “Color of Change grew out of the Katrina Disaster in New Orleans. Now, it has almost one million members, it’s the biggest online advocacy group for African American issues in the world.”
He says his inspiration to be a change spawned from reading stories about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Kennedy Brothers.
“I was born the year that Dr. King was killed, and when I was a little kid I would read all these stories about Dr. King and the Kennedy Brothers being killed in 1968. In the back of my mind it was like, ‘Wow, maybe I should try to do something like those guys.’ I don’t know why, kids make weird connections in their minds. So, I have spent the last 45 years, literally even as a child, trying to think about how to make America better,” Jones said. “What I would most want people to think about me was that I was the guy that showed up for the fight. If there was an injustice happening to people at the bottom, I showed up with the best ideas I could to make a difference.”
Currently, Jones is working on a new initiative that will be launching this summer called Yes We Code. This will be a collaborative effort between Prince, Essence Magazine, Chris Tucker, Dr. King’s family and several others.
“We’re going to teach 100,000 low opportunity young people to become the best computer programmers in the world. We’re working with dozens of grassroots training programs … to try to start training young geniuses in some of the tougher neighborhoods and get them ready to become a part of this technology revolution. That’s going to be the next big initiative I’m going to be part of,” Jones said.
Jones spends his time debating hot issues on CNN’s Crossfire where he serves as a co-host.
“It’s a huge honor to work with someone like Newt Gingrich. I don’t agree with him politically, but I admired him as a leader for his set of ideas for 20 years. I get to sit with him in front of a national audience and debate important issues,” Jones said.
Though most of Jones’ life and time is dedicated to making a difference, he says that when he has free time, he spends it with his two sons.
“I have two boys who are little. I try to spend any free time with them. We play with Nerf guns and board games,” Jones said.
On April 14, Jones was named the Department of Communications Distinguished Alumni. Dr. Robert Nanney, chair of the department, said he and the department were thrilled to have Jones back.
“We are extremely proud of Van and his passion for making a positive difference in this world. It was clear when he walked these halls that he had something very special and a drive to do just that. We’re thrilled that it worked out for him to return and not only accept our Distinguished Alumni Award, but also to interact with and inspire our current majors,” Nanney said.
Jones says he has learned a couple of things in his time.
“One, there are facts and the other is there are truths, and they are not the same. Facts is job market is terrible, you’re from a low-income background, and you didn’t go to a great school. Truth is you can do whatever you want to in this world,” Jones said.
“Some people focus on the facts and get depressed, other people focus on the truths and get inspired, but what you’ve really got to do is look at both. You’ve got to keep them both in front of you at all times. You can push the facts if you stand on the truth. The facts can change. The truth doesn’t change.”
Go to the photo gallery “Van Jones: ‘The guy who showed up for the fight’ to view more photos of Van Jones.
