Professional Background

The Honorable Jew Don Boney, Jr. was a member of the Houston, Texas

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, City Council

City council

A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...

 from 1995 until 2001, representing the historically African-American District D. In addition, Boney served as Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 Pro Tem of Houston from 1998 to 2001. Boney is currently the Associate Director of the Mickey Leland

Mickey Leland

George Thomas "Mickey" Leland was an anti-poverty activist who later became a congressman from the Texas 18th District and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus...

 Center on World Hunger and Peace at Texas Southern University

Texas Southern University

Texas Southern University is a historically black university located in Houston, Texas, United States....

.

International Trade

As an international trade facilitator, Boney has visited more than 20 foreign countries including Mexico, England, Ireland, Germany, Italy, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Brazil, Canada, Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

, Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

, Botswana

Botswana

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

, Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Togo

Togo

Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...

, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

, and Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

 and Zanzibar

Zanzibar

Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...

.

Internationally, in the field of global peace and the fight against hunger, Boney participated in the 2002 Congressional Black Caucus

Congressional Black Caucus

The Congressional Black Caucus is an organization representing the black members of the United States Congress. Membership is exclusive to blacks, and its chair in the 112th Congress is Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri.-Aims:...

 Legislative Summit on issues relating to human rights. He also was a delegate to the African/African American Summit in Accra

Accra

Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...

, Ghana. Boney has worked hand in hand with numerous African governments on missions to initiate, facilitate and implement global policy. This included work to secure passage of “The African Growth and Opportunity Act” (AGOA) signed by President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

, established the first formalized trade relationship between the U.S. and Africa. At the request of Ethiopian officials he successfully facilitated the certification of Ethiopia under AGOA. Boney was also asked to co-lead a September 2002 Trade Mission to Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...

, Ethiopia where he was able to successfully facilitate an agreement between the Ethiopian Government and the Food Development Corporation (FDC) to develop an unprecedented food security project projected to build a multimillion dollar agribusiness complex which is projected to provide food for 100,000 and employ more than 10,000 Ethiopians.

Community Activist

As a long time activist for social justice, Boney worked for 10 years to free wrongfully convicted inmate Clarence Brandley. The story of Brandley and that miscarriage of justice was portrayed in a 2002 movie, "Whitewash: The Clarence Brandley Story" made by Oscar-winning film maker Abby Mann

Abby Mann

Abby Mann was an American film writer and producer.-Life and career:Born as Abraham Goodman in Philadelphia, he grew up in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was best known for his work on controversial subjects and social drama...

. In this film, Boney was portrayed by actor Eamonn Walker

Eamonn Walker

Eamonn Walker is an English film, television and theatre actor. In the United States, he is known for playing Kareem Said in the HBO television series Oz, for which he won a CableACE Award, and elsewere as Winston, the gay, black thorn in Alf Garnett's side in In Sickness and in Health and John...

 (of the TV series "Oz

Oz (TV series)

Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...

"). This story had been documented in the book "White Lies: Rape, Murder, and Justice Texas Style" http://www.amazon.com/White-Lies-Murder-Justice-Texas/dp/0679401679 by author Nick Davies.

Boney also spoke out in the aftermath of the 1998 hate-crime killing of James Byrd, Jr. in Jasper, Texas.

Cultural Accomplishments

Boney was Chairman of the Board of Directors for the 37th annual Houston International Festival in 2008, with the theme “Out of Africa: The Three Journeys.” Boney is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum, and chairs the Legislative and Public Policy Task Force for the Earl Carl Institute at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.

Family / Personal Life

Jew Don Boney, Jr. earned a Masters Degree in Communication, and a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication (magna cum laude), both from Texas Southern University.

Boney is the son of the late Houston educator Dr. J. Don Boney

J. Don Boney

Jew Don Boney was a Texas educator who served as an administrator in the Houston Independent School District. He assisted in the planning and establishment of two colleges in Houston, and was president of the . He is the father of Jew Don Boney a former councilman and Mayor Pro Tem for the city of...

and the late Clara Payne Boney, and is married to Dorca Medina Boney.

External links

• Webpage of Jew Don Boney, Jr.
• Jew Don Boney - Speaker Page
• http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/115093285.html?dids=115093285:115093285&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Apr+20%2C+2002&author=EMORY+HOLMES+II&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=A+Race+to+Reverse+a+Subversion+of+Justice%3B+Television%3A+'Whitewash%3A+The+Clarence+Brandley+Story%2C'+Sunday+on+Showtime%2C+re-creates+one+man's+judicial+nightmare.&pqatl=googleLA Times article excerpt mentioning Boney in "Whitewash" movie]
• Boney speaks out on murder of James Byrd, Jr. - Houston Chronicle, June 14, 1998
• The Mickey Leland Center on World Hunger and Peace http://www.lelandcenter.org