Spider Jones speaks to East York residents about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

By MATTHEW STEPHENS

The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. was honoured at a presentation in East York on Monday, Jan. 19.

On what was Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, journalist, author, radio host and former amateur boxer Charles ‘Spider’ Jones shared the American civil rights leader’s story with residents of the St. Clair O’Connor Community.

King dedicated his life to advocating for equality and against segregation laws that were mostly in the southern United States. Known as the Jim Crow Era, it lasted from the 1870s to the middle of the 1960s.

For Jones, sharing King’s story is something held dear to his heart.

“Anything related to Martin Luther King, I just love sharing it,” said Jones in an interview with Beach Metro Community News following his presentation.

“He was one of my biggest inspirations, one of my biggest heroes. I absolutely adored the man growing up.”

Jones met with residents of the St. Clair O’Connor Community to deliver a powerful speech and celebrate King’s journey to become one of the most prolific civil rights activists in North America.

“J. Edgar Hoover called him the most dangerous Negro in America. You know why? Because he wanted freedom and equality – not just for Blacks, but for whites, Hispanics, and the poor,” said Jones. “He knew that every fight might be his last. He was a true hero.”

Jones’ presentation opened with a screening of the iconic “I Have a Dream” speech King shouted from the steps of Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Jones took to the microphone after to share some lesser-known details about King’s life, and the events leading up to his assassination in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

“There’s so much to talk about in terms of Martin Luther King – but with that particular speech, he had no intention of speaking those words ‘I have a dream’,” said Jones.

Recounting the events of the speech, Jones told the audience that American gospel singer Mahalia Jackson played a significant role in inspiring King’s improvised speech, after shouting “Tell ’em about the dream, Martin!”

He referenced other interesting facts about King’s life, including that he became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 at the age of 35, and that his Lincoln Memorial speech had an audience of almost 300,000 — considered an unprecedented number of participants for a civil rights gathering at the time.

In an interview with Jones after his presentation, he shared more details about his own personal and professional life as one of the only Black Canadian radio hosts in the 1980s.

“I was one of the first voices to project experiences of poverty, racism, police brutality, and the struggles of Black men at the time,” said Jones of his work as a radio host in the 1980s and ’90s.

During his time as a journalist, Jones hosted talk radio on Toronto’s CFRB 1010, which included his popular show The Spider Web. His exuberant personality in radio paved the way for other prominent Canadian hosts such as George Stroumboulopoulos, whom he mentored in his early years of broadcasting.

Born in Windsor, Ontario, Jones spent much of his adolescence travelling between his Canadian hometown and his mother’s in Detroit, Michigan., where he developed an affinity for boxing and broadcast journalism.

He was an amateur Golden Gloves boxing champion, and later worked as a boxing journalist and ring announcer. Jones also served as a sparring partner for boxing legends George Chuvalo and Jimmy Ellis, and was part of Muhammad Ali’s training camp when Ali was in Toronto to fight Chuvalo in 1966.

Jones was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996 for his journalistic and ring announcing achievements.

As a youngster, Jones said he was inspired by many of the disc jockeys he heard on the radio from the United States.

“You have Rufus Thomas out of Memphis, Tennessee – he was a great jock (disc jockey). And then you had Frantic Ernie Durham out of Detroit. They were great jocks,” said Jones.

“One of my biggest influences was a white jockey from Cleveland named Alan Freed, who coined the phrase ‘rock and roll.’ He’s the one that brought Black and white singers together on the same show and played their music.”

In his teenage years, Jones attended several concerts presented by Freed.

 “I got to be like this guy. I want my own radio show, so I can talk about these great singers and entertainers,” said Jones of Freed’s influence on him.

Jones’ long career in broadcast journalism has seen him conduct interviews with many prominent figures in the world of sports and entertainment, including Tina Turner, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Mike Tyson, even former United States President Bill Clinton.

In 2003, Jones published Out of the Darkness: The Spider Jones Story – a book that delves into his rise to prominence from the “gang-infested, inner-city projects of Detroit, U.S. and Windsor, Ontario.”

Jones has also appeared in film and television on several occasions, working on projects such as Sicilian Vampire (2015), Lee’s Offering (2005), and The Being Frank Show (2011 to 2013).

Following his career in journalism and entertainment, Jones, who is now 79 years old, has since become a strong advocate for youth outreach. He now serves as a co-founder of the ‘Believe to Achieve‘ non-profit organization focused on youth outreach development and counselling charity.

“I’m still working with the youth at 79 years old. I have my youth centre going on 18 years, and I also work within the prison system and speak at local schools,” said Jones.  

He has received many accolades during his over four-decade career, including the Order of Ontario in 2020 (Ontario’s highest civilian honour) for his outstanding contributions to the province and inspirational journey from a troubled youth to empowering figure.  

In 2023, Jones was the recipient of the Harry Jerome Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Canadian Black Business and Professional Association for his decades of work to empower youth, promote nonviolence, and strengthen communities.

In a message to young people shared with Beach Metro Community News, Jones explained that success requires sacrifice, perseverance, and a strong willingness to learn from mistakes.

“Envision yourself doing great things and then do them. If you have to sacrifice first, do it,” said Jones. “Just because you fail doesn’t mean you’re a loser. You fail when you quit on yourself. You’re going to slip along the way, but don’t stop there. Use that failure as a life lesson and keep going.”

For more information about Spider Jones, please go to his website at https://www.spiderjones.com/