Clarence "Jeep" Jones

Clarence "Jeep" Jones (April 17, 1933 – February 1, 2020) was an American community activist who was closely tied to the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston throughout his personal and professional life.

Early life

Jones was born on April 17, 1933, in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in the present-day neighborhood of Lower Roxbury. Much of Jones' childhood was spent within an area between the roads of Malcolm X Boulevard, Tremont Street, Hammond Street, and Shawmut Avenue. At the time, the neighborhood mainly consisted of African Americans and West Indians, but included other nationalities as well which gave rise to a cultural and lively atmosphere. In a 2008 interview, Jones stated that "we used to kid each other about our backgrounds an awful lot...It was a very, I guess you could say, Neapolitan neighborhood, but a very close knit, the kids were very close."

In 1988, Jones was on the board of the BRA and involved with giving the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, a non-profit organization, power of eminent domain and control of development within a 30-acre area for various purposes. This was the first time in the country that this power had been given to a nonprofit group. Jones later assisted with mayor Ray Flynn's efforts to better connect certain neighborhoods of Boston with the developing downtown area. Mayor Flynn's efforts led to the inclusion of "a greater diversity of people" with a design to improve neglected areas of the city. "He has had a fabulous career here in our city and is a great role model not only for the kids here today, but for all the kids across the city...A role model for all the young people of Boston, he is one of those fine individuals we have who understands the neighborhood of Boston and who understands kids." - Boston Mayor Thomas Menino at the reopening of "Jeep" Jones Park in June 2010