Van Jones
The Green Collar Economy is a notable work by Van Jones, a lawyer, author, civil rights advocate, and environmentalist who has engaged with questions of environmental and economic policy across multiple public roles.
Jones was born on September 20, 1968, in Jackson, where he attended Jackson Central-Merry High School. He went on to study at the University of Tennessee at Martin and the University of Tennessee before earning his law degree from Yale Law School. That educational path, moving from Tennessee through one of the country's most prominent law schools, prepared him to work across the intersecting areas of civil rights, environmental advocacy, and legal practice that would come to define his career.
Jones is described as a pundit, a motivational speaker, and a human rights defender, reflecting the range of platforms through which he has engaged with public life. His work in these areas earned him the Reebok Human Rights Award, a recognition given to individuals who demonstrate commitment to human rights causes. As both a lawyer and a civil rights advocate, he has operated at the intersection of legal reform and broader social concerns, while his identity as an environmentalist has shaped the terrain on which he has chosen to work. The Green Collar Economy stands as a product of these overlapping commitments, emerging from his sustained engagement with civil rights, environmental issues, and economic concerns.
The Reebok Human Rights Award remains a concrete marker of the recognition Jones has received for his work as a human rights defender. His roles as author and pundit have allowed him to bring the concerns he carries as a lawyer and civil rights advocate into wider public conversations, and The Green Collar Economy represents a point at which those concerns took the form of a published work. Jones continues to work as a United States citizen engaged across the fields of civil rights, environmental advocacy, and public commentary.
Quotes by Van Jones
Van Jones's insights on:
Ocean’s remarkable stories, depth of commitment, and eloquent communication make him a fantastic resource for conferences, universities, and indeed everyone who wants a potent dose of grounded inspiration.
By kicking its carbon addiction, America will increase its national wealth and generate millions of jobs that can’t be outsourced.
That’s one component: rather than creating job-training pipelines that put these kids at the back of the line for the last century’s pollution-based jobs, we need to be creating opportunities for them to be at the front of the line for the new clean and green jobs.
A family-friendly “eco-populism” can mobilize and unite millions who, at this point, would be turned off by a more extreme set of demands. The momentum will build, through these early efforts, for more comprehensive solutions.
Let’s stop wasting billions of dollars on prisons, which send people home who are too often less capable and more damaged than when they went in. We would have safer neighborhoods if we spent the same money on true rehabilitation, job training, employment and entrepreneurship.
The unspoken imperative should be this: I want to understand you. And I want you to understand me – whether or not we ever agree.
I don’t put myself above anyone, and I have as many shortcomings as any non-believer. I just choose to turn to a higher power to help me gain wisdom and, I hope, improve over time.