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[Page S633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO NATHANIEL JONES
Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. President, I rise to honor the memory of one
of our country's great civil rights leaders and judges, the Honorable
Nathaniel Jones, who passed away on January 26 at the age of 93.
Judge Jones was a native of Youngstown in my home State of Ohio, a
veteran who served in the Air Force during World War II, and a tireless
advocate for justice and equality. After his time in the military, he
earned an undergraduate degree and a JD from Youngstown State
University.
For much of the 1960s, Judge Jones was the assistant U.S. attorney
for the Northern District of Ohio at the appointment of Attorney
General Robert F. Kennedy. In 1969, he became the general counsel for
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP,
where he argued numerous cases before the Supreme Court.
In 1979 he moved to the Cincinnati area upon being appointed as an
appeals judge for the Sixth Circuit by President Carter, and he served
admirably in that role for decades. With all of his experience, and his
reputation for integrity and problem-solving, Judge Jones was an active
member of the Cincinnati community and widely respected in legal
circles. As an example, he was asked to deliver the inaugural Judge A.
Leon Higginbotham Distinguished Memorial Lecture at Harvard Law School.
His work also included helping to end the apartheid regime in South
Africa, working to promote a free and independent Namibia,
participating in the U.S.-Egypt Judicial Exchange Program, and
advocating for human rights within the Soviet Union. Among his many
accomplishments, he received the Distinguished Service Citation from
the National Conference for Community Justice and the State
Department's Millennium International Volunteer Award. For all of his
accomplishments, worked in the House of Representatives to write and
pass legislation to rename the U.S. courthouse in Youngstown after
Judge Jones--the courthouse stands only a few miles down the road from
where he was raised as a child. It now bears the name of this proud son
of Youngstown.
Back home in Cincinnati, Judge Jones was just as important a figure
in the fight for a more equitable society, having taught law at the
University of Cincinnati, among other schools. I was proud to work with
him on launching the National Underground Railroad Museum, housed in my
hometown of Cincinnati. It is there in large part because of the
efforts of Judge Jones, who also served as a co-chair of the board of
trustees for the museum. I was honored to work with him over the years
to further its mission. Just last fall, the University of Cincinnati
College of Law renamed its Center for Race, Gender, and Social Justice
in his honor.
Judge Jones was a model public servant, working to better his
community and his fellow man. I will remember him as a friend who
brought people together to support racial healing, equality and to
improve the community. His legacy of justice and equality before the
law should inspire all of us to continue to seek positive change.
Today, my thoughts are with his family--his sister, Allie Jean, his
daughters Stephanie and Pamela, his sons Rick, William, and Marc, and
the many others whose lives he touched.
____________________
