RESOLUTION NO. __________, SERIES 2018
title
A RESOLUTION HONORING ALBERTA ODELL JONES BY DEDICATING THE CORNER OF SOUTH DR. W. J. HODGE STREET AND WEST BROADWAY TO BE NAMED "ALBERTA JONES, ESQ. WAYBOULEVARD" IN HER HONOR (AS AMENDED).
body
SPONSORED BY: COUNCIL MEMBERS BARBARA SEXTON SMITH, JESSICA GREEN, MARY WOOLRIDGE, CHERI BRYANT HAMILTON AND PRESIDENT JAMES
WHEREAS, the Legislative Council of the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government ("Council") wishes to honor Alberta Odell Jones, Esq. whose pioneering work as an African American woman in civil rights work and in the practice of law was of great service to Louisville and Kentucky;
WHEREAS, Ms. Jones was born in Louisville to Sadie and Odell Jones;
WHEREAS, Ms. Jones graduated from Central High School and attended the Louisville Municipal College for Negroes, which later merged with the University of Louisville during desegregation;
WHEREAS, Ms. Jones graduated third in her class from the University of Louisville and was accepted into the University of Louisville Law School but transferred to Howard University's School of Law after her first year, and there she graduated fourth in her class;
WHEREAS, in 1959, Ms. Jones was one of the first African American women to pass the Kentucky Bar exam and become a member of the Kentucky Bar;
WHEREAS, Ms. Jones was the first female prosecutor in Louisville, where she worked for the Jefferson County Attorney's Office and prosecuted in the Domestic Relations Court;
WHEREAS, Ms. Jones was also Cassius Clay's first attorney, and was responsible for having him train in California under Archie Moore;
WHEREAS, Ms. Jones was a civil rights activist who not only participated in the March on Washington and the marches in Louisville, but also rented voting machines and held classes to teach African Americans how to vote for the candidates of their choice, and later established the Independent Voters Association;
...
Click here for full text