On Dr. King’s Legacy
He joined numerous black friends and others in accepting a commendation from the City Council for organizing last month’s 2-day celebration of Martin Luther King’s birthday.
“I am so happy that Martin Luther King’s legacy will never, ever be forgotten,” Mr. Jones said. “It is such an important holiday. Martin Luther King fought for the rights of all people of all ethnicities, of all religious backgrounds, all races, creeds and colors.
“He died fighting for what he believed in, peace, harmony and love for every man, woman and child.”
Why He Is Noticed
Mr. Jones exudes classiness.
He stands out because, without trying, he radiates this elusive concept that is absent in many of his better-known compatriots in civil rights.
Plainly, Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), who recently got into trouble for seeming to patronize the Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, has not met Mr. Jones.
Had he, he might have abandoned Mr. Obama for reasons of tackiness and mounted Mr. Jones’ bandwagon.
He is not running for anything yet — but how far away can Democratic talent scouts be?
Where Is the Respect?
Mr. Jones may be the black Rodney Dangerfield, although there is no chance Mr. Jones, a minister/longshoreman, would acknowledge it.
Flashy he is not.
His handsomely understated and substantive manner may encircle and engulf some of the carnival-trained stars of the civil rights community.
Smooth persuasion, with an accent on appealing to listeners above the shoulders, is Mr. Jones’ way.
This more nuanced style died with Dr. King’s assassination.
Trash-talk Makes Cash Talk
Trash-talking by two of the biggest mouths in America, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, count more than content with their black and their white image-makers.
Noise translates into cash, Mr. Sharpton and Mr. Jackson will tell you, if they are honest, no cinch given their creepy character.
Volume is the coin of the realm. Noise is marketable. So is pitching speeches to the level of a slow grammar school student.
By contrast, Mr. Jones is Brooks Brothers to the other guys’ 99 Cent Store.
More Bum Guessing
The gentleman conveys a more tasteful and edifying message to the masses than his so-called competition, which rankles the powerful admirers of flash.
Mr. Jones’ perceived shortcoming in the style category counts far more than his character or his effectiveness with the image-makers in racial politics.
Two weeks ago today, Sandy Banks, a much-troubled reporter for the Los Angeles Times, shared a byline on an unusual dual profile story comparing and contrasting Mr. Jones negatively with the flamboyant Najee Ali.
[The story is available on Mr. Jones’ website, lacivilrights.org.]
In print the last several years, the stiffly politically correct Ms. Banks has portrayed herself as an emotional basketball. This portends illy for persons she interviews for stories.
A Banks’ Error in Whose Favor?
Predictably, she made factual errors in the Ali-Jones piece, Mr. Jones noted. Predictably, they were against Mr. Jones. I, of course, am shocked. The shaky Ms. Banks committed another glaring mischaracterization, but that happens to intrepid practitioners of victimology.
Mr. Ali, who turns up the volume to whisper, is the director of Project Islamic Hope, which we shall leave for another day.
He may be a nice guy. We never have met.
I have a much better book on Mr. Jones. Ms. Banks, who larded her story in Mr. Ali’s favor, could not find one person to favorably assess Mr. Jones.
Hardly a self-promoter in the tradition of the carnival barkers around him, Mr. Jones also realizes he has to speak up for himself in order to validate his cause, rescuing victims of civil rights abuses.
“I have been out there doing a lot of battles,” he said last night. “I worked on the Long Beach trial (where 9 black teens were convicted of beating up 3 white women on Halloween night), the Harbor Gateway case where (13-year-old) Cheryl Green was murdered (in mid-December in an apparently racially motivated crime by a Latino gang). I gave marches in Harbor Gateway, and I have done a host of other things.
“But Najee Ali, he is trying to be a thorn in my side. He is trying to make it a competition, like we have to be in competition over who is doing the greatest work in the community.
“I feel that God has ordained my steps. He has ordered my steps to do the work that I do.
“So I don’t respond much to what he says or does. During the Long Beach trial, he came in one time. (Mr. Ali heavily criticized the black teens, and) he said the parents should apologize to the victims.
“I sat in on the trial 30 days straight. I said, this is a no-win situation. The kids and the victims all lose.
“This is a trial that affected America. It was an international story. It was a national story. It was about a hate crime or not a hate crime.
“The kids (who were convicted) were just going trick-or-treating on Halloween. And it ended up being a hate-crime story.
“We want to try to stay away from hate crimes. We want to stay away from our youth getting into trouble. The only way we can do that is by setting better examples as adults.
“One of the biggest things lacking in our community now is teaching our kids how to act appropriately.
“We have to step up as men.
“I told Najee Ali, ‘If you want to set a good example, be a good leader.’
“Leadership goes along with proper etiquette. Proper etiquette does not mean going to the newspaper trying to spread a bad story about someone who is helping in the community.”
That is the classy Mr. Jones’ take on the ill-disguised brickbat piece in the Times of Feb. 13, headlined “L.A. black activists search for a constituency.”
We shall see if Ms. Banks will reply.
Mr. Jones’ email address is comactwin@yahoo.com or eddie@civilrights.org.
