Stephanie J. Jones is an American lawyer, writer and former senior government official, and she is the President of the Nathaniel R. Jones Foundation. She was the federal government's first Chief Opportunities Officer and Editor-in-Chief of ''The State of Black America''. Jones is the creator and author of ''Sunday Morning Apartheid: A Diversity Study of the Sunday Morning Talk Shows''.

Early life

Stephanie Jones grew up in Youngstown, Ohio and later moved to

Ridgewood Ridgewood may refer to: Geography Australia *Ridgewood, Western Australia Canada * Ridgewood, Ontario *Ridgewood, Edmonton, Alberta United Kingdom *Ridgewood, East Sussex United States *Ridgewood Heights, California * Ridgewood, Illinois *Ridge ...

, a village in New Jersey. She is the daughter of

Nathaniel R. Jones Nathaniel Raphael Jones (May 12, 1926 – January 26, 2020) was an American attorney, judge, and law professor. As general counsel of the NAACP, Jones fought to end school segregation, including in the northern United States. From 1979 until 199 ...

, retired Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals judge and former general counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She is the granddaughter of author Lorenz Graham and great-niece of

Shirley Graham Shirley Graham Du Bois (born Lola Shirley Graham Jr.; November 11, 1896 – March 27, 1977) was an American writer, playwright, composer, and activist for African-American causes, among others. She won the Messner and the Anisfield-Wolf prizes f ...

and

W. E. B. DuBois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian Sociology, sociologist, Socialism, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanism, Pan-Africanist Civil and political civil rights activist. Bor ...

Education

Jones earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature and Afro-American studies from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence and Leeds) was 29,571. Northampton is known as an acade ...

. She earned her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where she was a fellow in the Urban Morgan Institute for Human Rights. She also attended Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University).

Career

Jones is the president and board member of the Nathaniel R. Jones Foundation, a non-profit devoted to advancing the civil rights legacy of her father, Nathaniel R. Jones. She was the first chief opportunities officer in the federal government, appointed by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. She also served as deputy chief of staff and senior counsellor to the secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Jones was the executive director of the National Urban League Policy Institute and editor-in-chief of The State of Black America. Jones is the creator and author of ''Sunday Morning Apartheid:'' ''A Diversity Study of the Sunday Morning Talk Shows.'' Following the release of the study, cable and network executives substantially increased the diversity of their talk show host and guest line-ups. She was previously chief counsel to Senator John Edwards from 2002 to 2005 and chief of staff to Representative

Stephanie Tubbs Jones Stephanie Tubbs Jones (September 10, 1949 – August 20, 2008)U.S. Department of Education (Region V). Before entering government service, Jones was an associate professor of Law at Northern Kentucky University's

Salmon P. Chase College of Law The NKU Chase College of Law (formerly Salmon P. Chase College of Law, also known as Chase College of Law) is the law school of Northern Kentucky University, a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It provides both part-time (day and ...

, where she taught civil rights law, civil and criminal procedure, entertainment law, and trial advocacy. Jones has also served on the adjunct faculty of Northwestern University School of Law. She previously practiced law with the firm Graydon, Head & Ritchey in Cincinnati. Prior to her legal career, Jones was a staff reporter at the '' Cincinnati Post''. During the early 1980s, she was personal assistant to

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

and The Commodores.

References

External links

* * The Nathaniel R. Jones Foundation Websit

* Op-Ed: "If You Want to Honour Judge Jones, Stand on the Right Side of History," ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', February 4, 202

*U.S. Department of Transportation Chief Opportunities Office

* Op-Ed: "Thurgood Marshall's Legacy Deserves Cheers, Not Sneers," ''The Washington Post'', June 30, 201

* Op-Ed: "Martin Luther King Tells Us Why the Mosque Must Be Built," ''The Washington Post'', August 21, 201

*

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

: Stephanie Jones on The State of Black Americ

*

: Stephanie Jones Discusses Campaign 2008 and Urban Issue

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Stephanie J. American legal writers African-American lawyers American women lawyers 21st-century African-American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers People from Youngstown, Ohio People from Ridgewood, New Jersey University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni Smith College alumni Tuskegee University alumni Ohio lawyers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers