[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 24260-24261]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   IN HONOR OF C. LYONEL JONES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE LEGAL AID 
                          SOCIETY OF CLEVELAND

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 28, 2005

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and recognition of 
C. Lyonel Jones, upon his retirement as Executive Director of the Legal 
Aid Society of Cleveland. Fortified with a law degree and a deep 
commitment to protect the legal rights of the poor, Mr. Jones grasped 
the torch of legal justice in 1966, passed to him by the Legal Aid 
Society's first attorney, Isador Grossman.

  Mr. Jones began working at the Legal Society in the summer of 1966, 
in a dilapidated building in Cleveland's Hough neighborhood. He 
witnessed the struggle for civil rights right

[[Page 24261]]

outside his office door, as the historic Hough Riots had begun just 
three days earlier. After the rioting had ceased, Mr. Jones united with 
U.S. Congressman Louis Stokes, Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes and the 
NAACP to rebuild the eastside neighborhood. He also provided legal 
defense to those who were erroneously charged during the riots.

  Mr. Jones' kind and humble nature veil his high intellect and legal 
savvy. His focus on providing quality legal services to those who 
otherwise could not afford legal representation served to lift the 
lives of thousands of families and individuals into the light of legal 
protection and justice. Moreover, Mr. Jones was a champion on behalf of 
the Legal Aid Society, always finding avenues to raise funds and garner 
community support.

  Throughout the past four decades, Mr. Jones' vision and leadership 
guided the Legal Aid Society through a significant expansion in staff 
and services, yet he ensured that the Society's mission remain 
constant--to provide compassionate and competent support to those 
unable to afford legal representation, and also to advocate on behalf 
of vital issues facing our community.

  From advocating for the restoration of the Hough neighborhood in the 
60's, to winning cases that improved the lives of those living in 
psychiatric facilities and nursing homes, to advocating on behalf of 
battered women, to forcing Republic Steel to comply with the EPA's 
Clean Air Act, Mr. Jones's efforts continue to have far-reaching, 
positive effects that extend miles beyond northeast Ohio.
  Mr. Speaker and Colleagues, please join me in honor and celebration 
of C. Lyonel Jones, whose integrity, commitment and leadership has 
given a voice to those who were silent and has offered protection and 
solutions to those who had neither.
  Mr. Jones' thirty-nine year tenure at the helm of the Legal Aid 
Society brought critical societal issues into the light of day, and his 
efforts, framed by heart, conviction and an unwavering focus on human 
rights issues, will exist as a brilliant example for all those who will 
follow. The work of Mr. C. Lyonel Jones has strengthened the foundation 
of justice upon which others will continue to build upon; a foundation 
fortified by their hopeful and courageous efforts focused on the day 
when these historic words will ring true: ``. . . and justice for 
all.''

                          ____________________