One of the first prominent black film stars, Jones was a living link with the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 1930s, having worked with Langston Hughes early in his career.

Jones was born in northwestern Mississippi; the specific location is unclear as some sources indicate Senatobia,[1] while others suggest nearby Coldwater.

[3] Jones became interested in theater after he moved to Chicago, as one of the thousands leaving the South in the Great Migration.

[6] Toward the end of his life, Jones was noted for his stage portrayal of Creon in The Gospel at Colonus (1988), a black musical version of the Oedipus legend.

One of his last stage roles was in a 1991 Broadway production of Mule Bone by Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, another important writer of the Harlem Renaissance.

[6] Although blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s due to involvement with leftist groups, Jones was ultimately honored with a lifetime achievement award by the U.S. National Black Theatre Festival.