“The Last of the Lions”

Clarence B. Jones (LAW’59), American lawyer, civil rights strategist, and close friend and advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. (GRS’55, Hon.’59), died May 22 at the age of 95. Jones helped plan the March on Washington and drafted portions of King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.

In a remembrance posted to LinkedIn, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Ryan Roth Gallo Professor of Law and dean of the Boston University School of Law, called Jones, “the last of the lions...who helped shape the dream that reshaped the United States of America and that changed the course of history.” She described him as, “one of the most influential, yet underrecognized architects of the Civil Rights Movement [who] made sure that the moral arc of the universe continued to bend toward justice.”

Among his many accolades, Jones received a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 2024, and a Best of BU Distinguished Alumni Award, presented by the BU Alumni Association in recognition of an alum’s exceptional leadership, in 2025. Photo by Boston University Photography