How Van Jones built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.
Van Jones is an American political analyst, media personality, lawyer, author, and civil rights advocate. He's known for his work as a CNN host and contributor, and for his three New York Times bestselling books. Jones is also an Emmy Award winner, highlighting his contributions to media and political discourse.
In 1992, Van Jones worked as a legal observer for the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights during protests related to the Rodney King case.
In 1995, Van Jones initiated the Bay Area PoliceWatch project with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.
In 1996, Van Jones and PoliceWatch led a campaign to gain the firing of officer Marc Andaya from the San Francisco Police Department.
In 1996, Van Jones founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.
In June 1997, following a campaign led by Jones and PoliceWatch, the San Francisco Police Commission voted to fire officer Marc Andaya for falsifying his application to the department.
In 1999, Van Jones led a campaign to defeat Proposition 21, which aimed to increase penalties for violent crimes and try more juvenile offenders as adults.
In 2000, Van Jones continued to lead a campaign to defeat Proposition 21, aiming to increase penalties for violent crimes. Despite efforts to mobilize student protests, the proposition was passed.
In 2001, Van Jones and the Ella Baker Center launched the "Books Not Bars" campaign to address the increasing rates of incarceration, especially among minorities.
During the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election, Van Jones served as Arianna Huffington's statewide grassroots director.
From 2001 to 2003, Van Jones led an effort to block the construction of a proposed "Super-Jail for Youth" in Oakland's Alameda County.
By 2005, Van Jones had begun promoting eco-capitalism and environmental justice. The Ella Baker Center expanded its vision to focus on job, wealth, and health creation.
In 2005, Van Jones and the Ella Baker Center produced the "Social Equity Track" for the United Nations' World Environment Day celebration held in San Francisco.
In 2005, following Hurricane Katrina, Van Jones and James Rucker co-founded Color of Change, a Web-based grassroots organization addressing Black issues.
In August 2008, Van Jones was featured on the grassroots radio program Sea Change Radio.
On October 20, 2008, the City of Oakland formally launched the Oakland Green Jobs Corps, a public-private partnership to provide job training and support for Oakland residents in the new energy economy.
In 2008, Van Jones published his first book, "The Green Collar Economy", which outlines a plan for addressing economic and environmental issues. The book received favorable reviews.
In February 2009, Van Jones gave a lecture at the Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative.
In March 2009, Van Jones was appointed as Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
In July 2009, Color of Change, which Jones had founded, launched a campaign urging advertisers on Beck's Fox News show to pull their ads due to comments made by Beck about President Obama.
On September 5, 2009, Van Jones resigned from his position as Special Advisor for Green Jobs, citing a "vicious smear campaign" and his concern that he was becoming a distraction.
In 2009, Van Jones was a keynote speaker at Powershift. This event further highlights his early involvement and advocacy in climate justice and youth activism.
In February 2010, Van Jones became a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, where he led the Green Opportunity Initiative. This initiative aimed to develop a clear agenda for expanding investment, innovation, and opportunity through clean energy and environmental restoration.
On October 2, 2010, Van Jones spoke at the One Nation Working Together rally in Washington, D.C., addressing the importance of linking the fight against poverty with the fight against pollution. He advocated for green jobs as a means to provide "real solutions" instead of "hateful rhetoric".
On April 15, 2011, Van Jones served as a keynote speaker at Powershift 2011 in Washington, D.C., addressing over 10,000 students. He spoke on issues of climate justice and the importance of standing up for underrepresented communities.
In June 2011, Van Jones collaborated with MoveOn.org to launch the Rebuild the Dream campaign. This initiative aimed to establish a progressive American Dream movement as a counter to the Tea Party movement.
On June 23, 2011, the Rebuild the Dream campaign officially kicked off with performances by The Roots and a DJ set by Shepard Fairey. The campaign also announced its "Contract for the American Dream" as a counter to the Tea Party's "Contract from America."
In July 2011, house meetings were held as part of the Rebuild the Dream campaign. Van Jones claimed that by the end of July 2011, 127,000 people had become involved in the movement.
In April 2012, Van Jones published his second book, "Rebuild the Dream". The book debuted at number 16 on the New York Times Best-Seller list.
In June 2013, Van Jones was announced as a co-host of the reboot of CNN's political debate show, Crossfire. His co-hosts included Newt Gingrich, Stephanie Cutter, and S.E. Cupp.
On September 16, 2013, the new version of Crossfire, co-hosted by Van Jones, premiered on CNN.
In October 2014, the rebooted version of Crossfire, on which Van Jones was a co-host, was canceled by CNN.
In March 2015, #cut50 hosted a "bi-partisan summit" with Republican Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House, to promote bi-partisan solutions to criminal justice reform.
In November 2015, #cut50 gained the support of singer Alicia Keys, furthering the organization's reach in criminal justice reform efforts.
In early 2015, Van Jones launched #YesWeCode, aiming to "teach 100,000 low-income kids to write code". Prince helped support the launch, and Van Jones credited him with the idea to form #YesWeCode.
After Donald Trump's victory in the November 2016 election, Van Jones described the result as a "whitelash." This term was used to describe a racist backlash by white Americans who had opposed President Obama.
In 2016, Alicia Keys made a video appeal to Congressman Paul Ryan asking him to commit to giving legislation on criminal justice reform a vote, which Ryan committed to do days later. #cut50 also received support from "100 A-List celebrities" including Amy Schumer, Steph Curry, and Shonda Rhimes.
In 2016, Magic Labs Media, a company founded and owned by Van Jones, produced The Messy Truth miniseries, which won a Webby Award.
In 2016, Van Jones launched The Messy Truth, a news feature documentary series, which was later followed by a studio discussion series.
In 2017, The Messy Truth with Van Jones, a studio discussion series, aired on CNN, following the initial news feature documentary series.
In May 2018, Van Jones and other members of #cut50 met with Jared Kushner and President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss a criminal justice reform bill.
On October 18, 2019, Van Jones defended Tulsi Gabbard after Hillary Clinton suggested that Russians were "grooming" her to be a third-party candidate to help President Trump win reelection. Jones argued against legitimizing attacks without real evidence and stated that such actions played into the hands of the Russians.
In 2019, Van Jones launched The Redemption Project with Van Jones. The show focuses on restorative justice, bringing offenders face to face with those most affected by their violent crimes.
In 2020, Magic Labs Media produced The Messy Truth VR experience, which won an Emmy Award.
In late spring 2020, after the police murder of George Floyd, Van Jones advised the Trump White House on police reform policy. He subsequently praised the president's executive order on police reform.
In 2021, Magic Labs Media launched the weekly podcast "Uncommon Ground with Van Jones".
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