[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 63 (Friday, May 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E783]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E783]]
              TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE NATHANIEL R. JONES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ROB PORTMAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 19, 2000

  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I pay tribute to a friend and 
distinguished constituent, the Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones, who will 
receive the Distinguished Service Citation from the National Conference 
for Community Justice (NCCJ) on May 25. Judge Jones was selected for 
this esteemed award for his outstanding work, personally and 
professionally, that has promoted the cause of inter-group 
understanding in our community.
  Judge Jones was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He served our 
nation in the Air Force during World War II. Following the war, he 
attended Youngstown State University, graduating with degrees of 
Bachelor of Arts in 1951 and Juris Doctor in 1956. In 1957, he was 
admitted to the Ohio Bar.
  In 1961, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy named Judge Jones an 
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, where he 
served for nearly 7 years. He continued his service as Assistant 
General Counsel to the Kerner Commission, studying the causes of urban 
riots in the 1960s. In 1969, Judge Jones was asked to serve as General 
Counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored 
People (NAACP). For 10 years, he worked tirelessly for the NAACP, 
organizing and arguing a number of cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. 
In 1979, he came to the Cincinnati area after President Carter 
appointed him to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.
  Judge Jones is deeply involved in legal education, having taught at 
the University of Cincinnati College of Law and a number of other law 
schools. He recently was chosen to deliver the inaugural Judge A. Leon 
Higginbotham Distinguished Memorial Lecture at Harvard Law School. He 
also regularly writes and lectures on a wide range of legal and social 
issues.
  Judge Jones played a role in helping to end apartheid in South 
Africa; monitored the election process leading to Namibia's 
independence; participated in a U.S.-Egypt Judicial Exchange program; 
and went to the Soviet Union in 1986 to meet with officials in 
connection with human rights.
  Judge Jones has received numerous awards and distinctions, including 
the Millennium International Volunteer Award from the State Department. 
In addition, Congress recently named the new federal courthouse in 
Youngstown, Ohio after Judge Jones.
  Among his extensive list of civic activities locally and nationally, 
Judge Jones serves as a Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees for the 
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and as Co-Chairman of the 
Roundtable, which works to broaden the involvement of minorities in the 
legal profession.
  Judge Jones and his wife currently live in Mt. Lookout. They have 
four children and six grandchildren. One of his children, a former law 
colleague of mine, Stephanie Jones, currently serves as a Chief of 
Staff to a Member of Congress. We are most fortunate for his service 
and commitment to our nation and local community, and I congratulate 
him on this well deserved honor.

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