J. "The Fox" Raymond Jones, (St. Thomas

Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...

, Virgin Islands

Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...

, 1899 - June 9, 1991 New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

) African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 New York politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He moved to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in 1918. He challenged Tammany Hall

Tammany Hall

Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...

 leader Carmine DeSapio

Carmine DeSapio

Carmine Gerard DeSapio was an American politician from New York City. He was the last head of the Tammany Hall political machine to be able to dominate municipal politics.-Life:...

 twice. After a failed campaign seeking support to his candidature in 1958, Jones succeeded in becoming the first black leader of Tammany in 1964. In 1961 Jones supported the election of Robert F. Wagner Jr. as New York mayor, again in contrast to Carmine DeSapio. Jones served as mentor to several younger black politicians who later became prominent in New York politics. This group, known as the "Harlem Clubhouse", included David Dinkins

David Dinkins

David Norman Dinkins is a former politician from New York City. He was the Mayor of New York City from 1990 through 1993; he was the first and is, to date, the only African American to hold that office.-Early life:...

, Basil Paterson

Basil Paterson

Basil Alexander Paterson , a labor lawyer, is a longtime political leader in New York and Harlem and father of the 55th Governor of New York, David Paterson. His mother was Jamaican, his father Grenadian.-Early life:...

, Charles Rangel and Percy Sutton

Percy Sutton

Percy Ellis Sutton was a prominent black American political and business leader. A civil-rights activist and lawyer, he was also a Freedom Rider and the legal representative for Malcolm X...

, among others.