Burnley Allan "Rocky" Jones (August 26, 1941 – July 29, 2013) was an African-Nova Scotian and an internationally known political activist in the areas of human rights, race and poverty. He came to prominence first as a member of the Student Union for Peace Action (SUPA) during the 1960s and then as a civil rights activist, community organizer, educator, and lawyer.

Family

Rocky Jones was born to Elmer and Willena Jones in

Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Scottish Gaelic: ''Trùru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River (Nova Scotia), Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth ...

as one of 10 children. His grandfather, Jeremiah Jones, was a hero during the

Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

in World War I. Jones was a fifth-generation

African Canadian Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...

and could trace his Canadian roots back to the Black Refugees of the early 19th century. He grew up in a close-knit working-class neighborhood with white and black families. He did not face overt racism until he was old enough to attend junior high school. After leaving school, he went into the Canadian army and then spent some time "on the road and in the streets" and held a number of jobs. In Toronto he came under the influence of local leaders in the black community, including Harry Gairey and Leonard Johnston. He was also influenced by Eugene Bonner, whom he recalled as "very political, very aware of Black issues and foreign issues. He was a real nationalist, a union man too." He met Bonner through his daughter, Joan, who also encouraged Jones's political development and reading interests. Joan and Rocky married in 1961.

Civil Rights Movement

In March 1965, Rocky and Joan and their daughter joined a demonstration organized by the Canadian group, Friends of the

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and later, the Student National Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emer ...

(SNCC), outside the American Consulate in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario. The protest was in support of the Selma to Montgomery, Alabama march for voting rights. Almost at once, the media began to refer to Jones as "Canada's Own

Stokely Carmichael Kwame Ture (; born Stokely Standiford Churchill Carmichael; June 29, 1941November 15, 1998) was an American activist who played a major role in the civil rights movement in the United States and the global pan-African movement. Born in Trini ...

." He also joined the Student Union for Peace Action (SUPA), and together with Joan, moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia to engage in a community organizing effort known as the Nova Scotia Project. They formed Kwacha House, the first inner-city self-help program for youth in the culturally diverse, lower socio-economic area of the city's North End. In 1968, Jones was responsible for inviting Carmichael and members of the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

to visit Halifax. This attracted police and media attention but also led shortly afterwards to the formation of a coalition of activist groups, including more conservative older organizations, as the Black United Front of Nova Scotia. Jones also helped establish the Afro-Canadian Liberation Movement and was sometimes referred to in the media at this time as "Rocky the Revolutionary." As a student at Dalhousie University, in 1970 he helped establish the Transition Year Program (where he taught for 10 years). He organized the Black Historical and Educational Research Organization (HERO Project), a pioneering oral history project on Black culture. He also helped create the Dalhousie Law School Indigenous Blacks and

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

Program.

Prisoner rights

A strong advocate of prisoner rights, Jones was involved in the establishment of the Black Inmates Association and the Native Brotherhood of

Dorchester Penitentiary The Dorchester Penitentiary ( French: Pénitencier de Dorchester) is a Canadian federal corrections facility located in the village of Dorchester, New Brunswick. It shares a property with Westmorland Institution and Shepody Healing Centre. ...

and Springhill Institution. Jones developed programs for women in the Kingston Prison for Women, Halifax County Correctional Centre and in the community. He developed a wilderness experience program for ex-inmates and oversaw two production companies also staffed by ex-inmates. Jones was the executive director of Real Opportunities for Prisoner Employment (ROPE), a self-help organization for ex-inmates.

Politics

Jones joined the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

in Nova Scotia in 1965 and remained active as an organizer and supporter in the following decades. In 1980, he ran unsuccessfully in a Nova Scotia by-election for

Halifax Needham Halifax Needham is a provincial electoral district in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It has existed since 1967, though its boundaries have changed periodically. Halifax Needham encompa ...

. At that time, he was one of the few known

Black Canadian Black Canadians () are Canadians of full or partial Afro-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. Black Canadian settlement and immigration patterns can be categorized into two distinct groups. The majority of Black Canadians are descendants ...

politicians. In 1995, Jones was co-chair of the People's Summit, an alternative assembly that took place during the G7 meetings in Halifax. In 2009 he helped

Lenore Zann Lenore Zann (born November 22, 1959) is a Canadian actress and politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Cumberland—Colchester in the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Liberal Party. Before ent ...

win her successful campaign to be elected as NDP member of the legislative assembly for the Truro area.

Legal career

Jones received his law degree from Dalhousie University in 1992 and spent several years working with Dalhousie University

Legal Aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right ...

before forming his own law firm, B.A. "Rocky" Jones & Associates. While at Dalhousie, he provided legal services and taught law students. Jones' firm concentrated on human rights cases, criminal, prisoner rights and labour law. Jones was particularly interested in human rights issues involving Black people and people of colour. He worked closely with the Aboriginal community on land claims, justice and educational issues and was a Canadian expert on

environmental racism Environmental racism, ecological racism, or ecological apartheid is a form of racism leading to negative environmental outcomes such as landfills, Incineration, incinerators, and hazardous waste disposal disproportionately impacting Community ...

. In 1997 he successfully argued the groundbreaking case of R. v. R.D.S. before the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...

. This case set a precedent for race related litigation and contextualized judging.

Guelph University The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald Institute (1903), an ...

bestowed an Honorary

Doctorate of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

to Jones in 2004.

Death

Jones died of heart failure on July 29, 2013, at the age of 71.

Legacy

In August 2016,

Fernwood Publishing Fernwood Publishing is an independent Canadian publishing company based in Nova Scotia. The company publishes non-fiction books primarily concerning social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opport ...

released the autobiography Burnley “Rocky” Jones Revolutionary. The book was written by James W. St. G. Walker and Rocky Jones, and includes an afterword by

George Elliott Clarke George Elliott Clarke (born February 12, 1960) is a Canadian poet, playwright and literary critic who served as the Poet Laureate of Toronto from 2012 to 2015 and as the Canadian Parliamentary Poet Laureate in 2016-2017. Clarke's work addresse ...

. In September 2018, a petition was started by Angel Panag, a Halifax resident, requesting Cornwallis Street in

North End, Halifax The North End of Halifax is a neighbourhood of Halifax, Nova Scotia occupying the northern part of Halifax Peninsula immediately north of Downtown Halifax. History Prior to European colonization, the Mi'kmaq inhabited the land throughout A ...

be renamed to honour Rocky Jones. The petition was signed by over 1,700 people, and presented to Halifax City Council by the area's City Councillor. The same petition was again presented to

Halifax Regional Council Halifax Regional Council () is the governing body of Halifax, known as the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). Halifax is governed by a mayor-council system, where councillors are elected from sixteen geographic districts though a first-past-th ...

in October 2021, after having garnered 9,330 signatures.

Awards

Order of Nova Scotia The Order of Nova Scotia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The order was instituted through the ''Order of Nova Scotia Act'' on 1 June 2001, with the first appointments beginning in 2002. The order is int ...

*Meritorious Award of Excellence: The *Black United Front of Nova Scotia *Distinguished Service Award: The Canadian Association of Black Lawyers *H.Carl Goldenberg, Q.C. Award: Dalhousie University Law School *Hon. G.I. Smith Trust Award: Dalhousie University Law school *Founders Award: The Transition Year Program, Dalhousie University *Graduate Scholarship: Dalhousie University *Community Involvement Award: The National Black Coalition of Canada *Race Relations Committee Award: The Nova Scotia Barristers Society *Apex Community Award: Town of Truro *Honorary Doctorate of Laws:

*Wall of Honour: Nova Scotia Black Cultural Centre

References

External links

*
Five Awarded Order of Nova Scotia
* Watch the 1967 documentary fil
''Encounter at Kwacha House - Halifax''

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Rocky 1941 births 2013 deaths Black Canadian politicians Black Nova Scotians Candidates in Nova Scotia provincial elections Schulich School of Law alumni Dalhousie University alumni Members of the Order of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia New Democratic Party politicians People from Truro, Nova Scotia Black Canadian activists Canadian civil rights lawyers Lawyers in Nova Scotia Black Canadian lawyers