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Dr. Clarence B. Jones served as legal counsel, strategic advisor, and draft speechwriter to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from 1960 until Dr. King’s assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. During that time, Dr. King depended on Dr. Jones for legal and strategic counsel and assistance in drafting landmark speeches and public testimony. He is credited with writing the first seven paragraphs of the iconic I Have A Dream speech. He has authored two acclaimed books What Would Martin Say? and Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech that Transformed a Nation, and countless articles and essays for the Huffington Post and many other publications. His latest book, Last of the Lions, was released this year. (Red Hawk Publications/UNC Press). As a lawyer, civil rights leader, and business executive in the entertainment field, Dr. Jones maintained close personal friendships -- and collaborative working relationships as -- with influential 20th- century artists, writers, athletes, and social justice activists, including Muhammed Ali, James Baldwin, Harry Belafonte, Ossie Davis, and Ruby Dee, and Lorraine Hansberry. Dr. Jones was engaged in close working relationships and friendships with many leaders of the black liberation movement who interacted with King throughout these years. He was a liaison between Dr. King and Malcolm X, James Baldwin, and Robert F. Kennedy, among other figures. Because of his relationship with Dr. King and his associates, Dr. Jones, he was the target of illegal wiretaps initiated by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover from July 1963 until Dr. King’s assassination.

Christina Hull Paxson has served as Brown University’s 19th president and professor of economics and public policy since July 1, 2012. Under Paxson’s leadership, Brown has fortified its standing as a leading research university known for its excellence and innovation in undergraduate education, its transformational vision in fueling economic development through community and government partnerships, and its commitment to inclusion and access.

Founded by Brown University in 1992, The Leadership Alliance is a consortium of 37 leading research and teaching colleges, universities, and private industries dedicated to increasing the participation of underrepresented students in Ph.D. and M.D.-Ph.D. training programs, with the goal of developing them into outstanding scholars and leaders in academia, business, and the public sector. To date, the Alliance has mentored over 6,000 undergraduates resulting in the production of more than 1,000 Leadership Alliance alumni who have obtained Ph.D. degrees. By catalyzing a culture of belonging, fostering mentorship, and acknowledging intersectionality, The Leadership Alliance is a change agent that promotes and contributes to the national discourse on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the research workforce.