Clarence B. Jones, the attorney and adviser who helped shape Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, has died at 95. Jones died on May 22 at an assisted living facility in Cupertino, California. His son Clarence Jr. has confirmed, per The New York Times.

Born Jan. 8, 1931, in Philadelphia, Jones’ mother was a maid, and his father was a gardener and chauffeur. They placed him in foster care at 6 to give him a better life. A valedictorian at an integrated high school in Palmyra, he demonstrated early speechwriting talent in a 1949 graduation address that advocated for breaking down racial barriers. He later graduated from Columbia University, served in the U.S. Army, and earned a law degree from Boston University. These achievements laid the groundwork for his future role alongside King.

Jones was part of King’s inner circle from 1960 until King’s assassination in 1968. He helped draft speeches, provided legal counsel, and played a role in some of the movement’s defining moments, including work tied to the March on Washington and the fight for civil rights.

He is widely credited with helping write the first part of the iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered in 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It is globally one of the most celebrated and recognized speeches of the century.

The Times reported that Jones, King, and other civil rights leaders (including Roy Wilkins, James Farmer, John Lewis, and Stanley Levison) met in the Bronx that summer to refine the address before the march. They often met at Jones’ apartment in Riverdale to discuss and plan other causes that became major milestones.

However, Jones’s influence and work stretched far beyond that famous speech: he helped smuggle pages of King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” out of jail and assisted with crafting King’s 1967 anti-war speech “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence,” at Riverside Church in New York, a year before King’s death. He also worked on the landmark press-freedom case New York Times v. Sullivan.

In 2024, Jones was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. His death closes a chapter on a life that helped shape the words and strategy of the civil rights movement for generations.

More recently, Jones spoke out against the Trump administration’s efforts to diminish Black voting power through the redrawing of congressional maps.

“The problem is Trump is living in a world that doesn’t exist anymore,” Jones said at a public event, per NBC.​

“Sure, you’re going to have some blips,” Jones said. “But more powerful than the march of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come. More powerful than the march of many armies or that d--- head called President Trump.”

​For decades, Jones’ work has undeniably influenced and inspired people around the world, and it’s clear his passion for politics and human rights never wavered. Reverend Al Sharpton summed it up best.

“He was a brilliant strategist, lawyer, author, and philanthropist,” said Sharpton on X, referring to him as a personal mentor. “So many of us owe a great debt to Clarence Jones.”