Nathaniel Jones
"I have a firm conviction about the desire of Toyota to act affirmatively to make diversity a core component of its business operation. I envision that Toyota’s initiative will penetrate all aspects of its operations, from top to bottom."
Retired Senior Judge in the Sixth Circuit of Appeals in Cincinnati, the Honorable Nathaniel R. Jones was born in Youngstown, Ohio and attended public schools there. After service in the United States Army Air Corps in World War II, he was educated at Youngstown State University, receiving his B.A. in 1951 and his L.L.B. in 1956. He was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1957.
From 1956 to 1959, he was Executive Director of the Fair Employment Practices Commission of the City of Youngstown. He then began private practice and a year later was appointed as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio in Cleveland. In 1967, he served as Assistant General Counsel to President Johnson's National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, also known as the Kerner Commission. In 1969, Judge Jones was invited to assume the responsibility of general counsel of the NAACP, a position he held from 1969 to 1979.
On May 17, 1979, at a White House ceremony, President Carter announced his intention to appoint Nathaniel Jones to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Judge Jones took his oath of office on October 15, 1979.
Following his retirement from the Sixth Circuit in March 2002, Judge Jones assumed a position as Senior Counsel with Blank Rome LLP. He also participates in a variety of activities and serves as co-chairman of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, member of the Toyota Diversity Advisory Board, member of the KnowledgeWorks Foundation Board of Trustees, and chair of the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative. He has taught at several law schools throughout the United States and is the holder of 17 honorary degrees.
An internationally renowned civil rights activist, Judge Jones played an important role in furthering the abolition of apartheid in South Africa. The drafters of South Africa's new constitution and laws consulted him, and he conferred with Nelson Mandela upon Mandela's release from 27 years of imprisonment.
Judge Jones has authored numerous articles and papers and has been the recipient of many honors and awards. Most recently, he received the Ohio Bar Medal from the Ohio State Bar Association and was honored by the radio station WCIN and The Fifth Third Bank as one of "The Fifty Most Influential Blacks in Cincinnati in the Last Half Century." His other awards include the prestigious 2002 Professionalism Award for the Sixth Circuit by the American Inns of Court; the 2002 Thurgood Marshall Award from the National Bar Association's Judicial Council; induction into the National Bar Association Hall of Fame; the 2001 Lincoln Award from Northern Kentucky University; a Distinguished Service Citation from the National Conference for Community and Justice in May 2000; the Millennium International Volunteer Award from the United States Department of State in March 2000; and in February 1997, was recognized by the Chamber of Commerce as one of the "Great Living Cincinnatians".
Judge Jones is married to Lillian Hawthorne. They have four children, three of whom are lawyers and one an Atlanta educator, as well as six grandchildren. On February 20, 2003, the United States Congress passed H.J.Res.2, officially naming the Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building & United States Courthouse in Youngstown, Ohio.
