Former prison inmate Daniel Jones had reformed his life and was a strong presence not only in Detroit but across Michigan.
A crowd of mourners gathered in Detroit over the weekend to celebrate the life and legacy of local activist Daniel Jones during a vigil at the gas station where he was shot and killed a week prior.
The Detroit Free Press reports that Jones, a notable community activist, was slain by gunfire on Saturday, Nov. 19, while sitting inside his vehicle at the Shell gas station at 8 Mile and Greenfield Roads.
Jones, who was formerly incarcerated, began working on criminal justice reform and voter mobilization in Detroit and other Michigan cities after he left prison.
Along with his activism, Jones served as a board member for Nation Outside, an organization primarily focused on criminal justice reform, and reportedly stayed busy with other groups across the state.
Nation Outside, Michigan Liberation, SADO, Human Rights Watch, Michigan United and Voting Access for All Coalition joined together to organize Saturday’s vigil honoring Jones. Along with members of those organizations, Jones’ family and friends also were in attendance. An opening prayer was delivered by Kevin Harris, pastor of Nazarene Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit.
Some of Jones’ family members, including his mother and brother, were in attendance Saturday but elected not to speak. Others who knew Jones and had worked alongside him offered their thoughts.
“He was a beautiful soul and human being who had transformed his life and dedicated his life to helping others,” Darryl Woods, regional coordinator for Nation Outside, said of Jones, the Free Press reported. “He was about peace and he was about justice and fairness and equity and he is deeply, deeply missed in our community.”
“Danny was about change,” Kimberly Woodson, a fellow criminal justice advocate, said during the vigil. “He represented love and transformation. He spoke up for the underdog. He wanted the violence to stop and the same laws that he fought to change, the person who took his life on the soil that I stand on, will benefit (from).”
The Detroit Police Department, which is currently investigating, has yet to identify a suspect or a motive in Jones’ killing.
“How in the world did this beautiful brother escape penitentiary only to come home and to lose his life to a city that he fought so hard to save and transform?” wondered Teferi Brent, another activist. “I’ve got a real problem with that.”
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