Van Jones

photo by Prphotos

Birth Name: Anthony Kapel Jones

Place of Birth: Jackson, Tennessee, U.S.

Date of Birth: September 20, 1968

Ethnicity: African-American

Van Jones is an American political activist, news commentator, author, and attorney. He is known for his work with CNN.

He is the son of Loretta Jean (Kirkendoll), a high school teacher, and Willie Anthony “W. A.” Jones, a principal at a junior high school, who had been an Air Force officer in the Vietnam War.

He has two children with his former wife Jana Carter.

Van is a fourth cousin of actor Sterling K. Brown. Van’s paternal great-great-great-grandparents, Columbus Green and Julia, were also Sterling’s maternal great-great-great-grandparents.

Van’s paternal grandfather was Walter Jones (the son of Richard “Dick” Jones and Alice Myers). Walter was born in Tennessee. Alice was the daughter of a father surnamed Myers, and of Ella Green.

Van’s paternal grandmother was named Essie Lee Glover.

Van’s maternal grandfather was Chester Arthur Kirkendoll II (the son of Chester Arthur Kirkendoll). Van’s grandfather Chester was a bishop in the AME church. Van’s great-grandfather Chester was the son of Mark Kirkendall. Mark’s father, who was enslaved, killed his owner, escaped from prison, and was re-captured and brought back to Arkansas, where he was convicted of manslaughter, and then pardoned by the governor; Mark then escaped slavery again, this time remaining free.

A DNA test whose results were displayed on the show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2023) stated that Van’s genetic ancestry consists of:

*76% African
——–*24% Nigeria
——–*19% Senegal
——–*apprx. 17% Cameroon, Congo, & Western Bantu
——–*6% Benin & Togo
——–*6% Mali
——–*4% Ivory Coast & Ghana
*24% European
——–*15% England & Northwest Europe
——–*6% Scotland
——–*5% Germanic Europe
——–*2% Wales

The numbers listed on the program do not add up to 24%.