SLS 23RS-717 ORIGINAL
2023 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 41
BY SENATOR FIELDS
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Mr. Clarence Jones Jr. upon his 80
th
birthday and for
being the founder and director of the Heritage Festival of Negro Spirituals.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend Mr. Clarence Jones Jr. upon the occasion of his 80th birthday and being the
3 founder and director of the local, national, and internationally recognized Heritage
4 Festival of Negro Spirituals.
5 WHEREAS, as the oldest of nine children, he was born to Clarence Jones Sr. and
6 Rosetta Gash Jones on April 21, 1943, on Utah Street in Berwick, Louisiana, and moved to
7 Morgan City at the age of three; and
8 WHEREAS, Mr. Jones received a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Music and a Master of
9 Educational Leadership from Southern University (SU) and further certification from
10 Louisiana State University (LSU); and
11 WHEREAS, the merging of Mr. Jones' hobbies (playing the piano and singing), his
12 educational experiences, and his love for his Lord produced a versatile, gifted musician, and
13 educator whose performing, composing, and conducting skills would unquestionably
14 document his reputation as an amazing artist; and
15 WHEREAS, in sharing his God-given blessings with others, he created a nonprofit
16 professional choral ensemble in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, named the Heritage Festival of
17 Negro Spirituals to perpetuate Negro Spirituals as a distinctive art form and to fulfill the
18 need of restoring and preserving its legacy; and
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SLS 23RS-717 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, Negro Spirituals are the first indigenous musical form created by
2 African slaves upon arriving on American shores which have been inspired by some
3 memorable event or personality in the Bible; and
4 WHEREAS, the Negro Spiritual is valuable as music but also as a complete
5 expression of a race to whom religion is a vital reality; and
6 WHEREAS, since 1991, on the first Saturday in February, the signature event has
7 been the Annual Festival of Negro Spirituals at which local churches, Historically Black
8 Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and various community choirs have participated; and
9 WHEREAS, this annual event has been hosted at Mt. Zion First Baptist Church in
10 Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and
11 WHEREAS, Heritage Festival of Negro Spirituals' slogan, "No place or audience has
12 been too large or small, too near or far for us to perform", has resulted in them performing
13 before a plethora of local, national, and international audiences, such as various venues
14 throughout Louisiana, Chicago, IL, Philadelphia and Pittsburg, PA, Atlanta, GA, Hampton,
15 VA, Mexico City, Mexico, Paris, France, The America Church in Paris, in England, and
16 before Pope John Paul II; and
17 WHEREAS, Mr. Jones' career has been full of accomplishments; he is most proud
18 of his family, being a loving husband, father, grandfather, and brother; and
19 WHEREAS, we celebrate and cherish Mr. Clarence Jones Jr. for sharing his eighty
20 years of life through his music, education, and Negro Spirituals which are an eloquent
21 expression of human experiences.
22 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
23 does hereby commend Mr. Clarence Jones Jr. upon the occasion of his 80th birthday and for
24 being the founder and director of the Heritage Festival of Negro Spirituals, and hereby
25 record for posterity his God given gift of music which he shared with all who would listen.
26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
27 Mr. Clarence Jones Jr.
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SLS 23RS-717 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Ann S. Brown.
DIGEST
SR 41 Original 2023 Regular Session Fields
Commends Mr. Clarence Jones Jr. on his 80th birthday and being the founder and director
of the Heritage Festival of Negro Spirituals.
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