Evolving Man Project

Welcome to the Evolving Man Project’s “Evolved Man of the Week” profile. Each week, we highlight an individual who embodies what it means to be an evolved man, famous and non-famous men alike. The world needs to know their stories and deeds. This week’s honor goes to ROTC cadet, University of Michigan-Dearborn student, former councilmen, and the youngest state representative in the country, Jewell Jones.

Mr. Jones took a chance and threw his hand into politics. He feels he can be a positive influence in his community:

“I think where race would come in is the way that a lot of our young black males have been on the media, for a lot of different things, negative things,” Jones told HuffPost. “I think it’s good to see a young brother doing something positive — and it’s all positivity and it’s nothing negative about it.”

Mr. Jones has a passion for serving others. He has spent most of his youth being an active member of the community and has always been active in politics since the tender age of 8 years old. He’s worked for the political campaigns of Michigan State Senator David Knezek and Inkster’s Mayor Hilliard Hampton over the years. Given his young age, some have questioned Jewell Jones’ leadership abilities and maturity to handle such responsibility. Mr. Jones takes it all in stride:

“I have quite a lot of responsibility and roles right now that I’ve had for quite some time now,” Jones said. “It kind of molded me to be good at this job.”

Jewell Jones was born in Inkster (Brick City) and is currently a junior at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He’s majoring in political science and finance. In 2015, Jewell Jones became the youngest elected city councilman in Inkster, Michigan history at the age of 20. His political career doesn’t take away from his packed and active college life. His campus affiliations include Army Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC), the Black Student Union (BSU), and the Student Veteran Association. Even with all that on his plate, Jewell still stays grounded and a man of the people. He wants to be an inspiration to young people in his city and make a positive impact on his community:

“I want to make sure that we get young people involved, not just in the political arena, but in all aspects of the community, to make sure that we are sustainable,” he said. “I’m going to be focused on the youth primarily, but also economic development as well as public safety.” 

Jewell Jones has made quite an impact in his short 21 years. We wish him the best as his political star keeps rising in the great state of Michigan. He is the true definition of #BlackBoyJoy. Today, we honor Jewell Jones as this week’s Evolved Man of the Week.