Van Jones, a CNN political commentator, social entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author, spoke to the Tufts community in a webinar on Thursday, Oct. 1, as part of the Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series. Dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life Alan D. Solomont (A’70) moderated the event.
Solomont first asked Jones what the common thread is between his wide-ranging projects, which include founding several nonprofits, leading the Green Jobs Act and advancing criminal justice reform through initiatives like#cut50.
Jones prefaced his response with his own family history, and his father’s upbringing in poverty, before outlining questions that inspire his work.
“What can you do for the people with the least wealth, the least money, the least access?” he asked. “What can we do about bigotry, racism and discrimination?”
Jones asserted that he has asked himself these questions throughout his career, but noted that his answers have changed over time. Specifically, he attributed his changing views to his work in social collectives, participation in protests and political activism in the Bay Area.
“I got run over by a police car protesting the World Bank in 1999, in Washington, D.C.,” Jones said. “I got tear-gassed in Seattle in 1999 in the big protest against the World Trade Organization.”
He later cited his work foundingDream Corps and other social justice initiatives, with which he has worked to have 63,000 people released from prisons across the United States this year alone.
Though Jones underlined the importance of tangible action on the part of citizens, he emphasized the importance of economic development, in addition to protests, as a means of effecting change.
Solomont then directed the conversation to the notion of “safe spaces” on college campuses. He quoted a speech Jones delivered at the University of Chicago, where Jones said that students should not be ideologically “safe,” and that they should be offended or upset in order to encourage dialogue and inspire each student to speak up.
"I want you to be offended every single day on this campus. I want you to be deeply aggrieved ... and then learn how to speak back," Solomont said as he read the excerpt from Jones' speech.
Jones responded by elaborating on how challenging viewpoints can be beneficial to college students, and how these sentiments can encourage new ideas and action.
“You want to be offended. You want that racially insensitive comment," Jones said. "You guys need to be tough. You need to be strong and to be wise."
The conversation later focused on current issues in the media, particularly surrounding some of Jones’ areas of interest, including racial justice and the environment.
Jones is uniquely positioned at the intersection of these fields, having extensive experience in criminal justice reform, spearheading the Green Jobs Act and advising President Barack Obama on the Act in 2009.
He emphasized that he wants to see people out of jail and into jobs, but clarified that the jobs must be ethical, Earth-honoring and “green.”
The United States has the largest peacetime prison population in history, Jones noted, and between incarceration and probation, the country has millions of people entangled in the criminal justice system.
“Six million human beings [are] trapped in the land of the free. Trapped in prison and surveillance and the revolving door between the two, disproportionately African American, Latino, Latina, Native American — almost all low income,” Jones said. “This is a massive human rights catastrophe.”
The discussion then centered on the role of the media, and the importance of diversifying sources of information.
Jones spoke to the difficulties of integrating opposing viewpoints into social media feeds.
“Most people will say ‘I don’t want to follow these people.’ Well then you’re no better than people on the other side who don’t want to follow you,” Jones said. “This is a challenge.”
Toward the end of the event, Jones answered questions from students and members of the community.
Emma Winey, a junior student studying political science, asked Jones about how Americans can reconcile widespread skepticism and distrust in news media outlets.
“What I can say is that you can be responsible yourself for not passing along fake news from your side,” Jones said. "All we can do is try to have the antibodies ourselves, and not be superspreaders of bad ideas.”
Jones closed the discussion by encouraging listeners to exercise skepticism while reading the news, and to remain politically attentive and engaged.
