Page 0: Page 1: “Just because you’ve been denied, declined, rejected, not promoted, doesn’t mean you should lie down and roll over. Get up and keep in the fight.” – Spider Jones had sisters getting on me because of that. I said to them, ‘Didn’t we fight for liberty and freedom? Freedom to choose?’ I said, ‘Well, you have a problem in your own minds. You’re angry about something.’ I’ve been married to the same woman for 32 years. I didn’t marry her because she was white. I married her because I met a woman who had a heart and a soul, and she was beautiful to me, and she’s always been there for me. I made a great choice, I judged correctly. We’ve been together for 32 years!” he beams. Jones graduated from Seneca College with an honours diploma in Radio and Broadcast Journalism. He then ventured into radio and broadcasting and the rest is history. Fulfilling his childhood dream of being a radio host, he has dabbled with genres such as writing and acting. Several major journalism awards including one presented to him by Don King adorn his mantle. This is only part of the story however. Spider has written a book about his life called Out of the Darkness, which delves deeply into his youth. He confirms that major movie producers who are interested in producing the movie version have approached him. He is very candid about his thoughts on many issues from racism to today’s youth. He ruffles a few feathers for his brutal honesty, but takes great care to talk to the kids—particularly kids of colour—tirelessly speaking at seminars and charity functions about the importance of education and self-esteem. The reason? A child tainted by racism or low esteem is a child lost, like he almost was. “What I do best is motivate,” he says with fiery vernacular. “Be prepared to sacrifice. Don’t go in there with pity in your heart. Too many people go in full of self, mad at the world because the world created them wrong, mad at the world because they were born in the projects or the hood because they got treated badly. When I got rid of that bitterness is when the creative juices started flowing and I began to be able to really think straight without that cloud of hatred and anger. You have to get rid of that somehow. You do that by talking to people, not fighting with them.” The 3-time former Golden Gloves Champion’s eyes light up once the topic of racism appears. Smashing the glass ceiling in both radio and TV, Spider is the first black to have a Canadian number one radio program. “I tell it like it is. I get blamed more than anybody for playing the race card and I shall play it as long as it’s there,” he says. “It is there, you slap it on the table, you don’t want me to play it? What the hell is up with that? It’s on the table, what are they doing besides ‘Oh, there goes the race card.’ What are they doing speaking out?” he asks rhetorically. “I know a lot of successful whites in this business that don’t think they should speak out or don’t speak out. They talk a lot, or they’ll write about it in the paper, but speak out man. I’ve made enemies because I’ve spoken out. All I want is young people of colour to think ‘We’re not excluded, we’re included and this is proof.’ Everytime I turn on the TV, I see different things but I don’t see many blacks. It’s getting better, but we talk about the racism in America, but there are a lot more opportunities down there.” Putting his money where his mouth is, his charity foundation Believe to Achieve helps students attend university through various scholarship programs. His latest book How to KO Low-Esteem and Bring your Dreams into Reality in 10 Rounds is on the horizon to keep driving the message home. “Fate is what life gives you. Destiny is what you do with it.” Rest assured, it’s for kids of all ages. Spider Jones is an award-winning journalist and public speaker. He is currently seen on the TV show The Grill Room Fridays at 11 p.m. on SUNTV and is heard on his weekly radio talk show The Spider’s Web Sundays from 4-6 p.m. on CFRB1010. For more information, please visit www.spiderjones.com. Kenai Andrews Spider Jones Charles “Spider” Jones knows something about the treacherous path that low self-esteem can lead to. As a rough kid growing up in the Windsor and Detroit projects, he was the quintessential young, black and angry teenager. He was a gradefour dropout and developed an early affinity for the streets. Unflinching racism fuelled a low selfimage that haunted him for many years and was a major factor in his troubled youth. Robbing, brawling and jail time were common occurrences. Living the gang life in the time of the civil rights movement and legendary Motown era, he interacted with its biggest stars like Diana Ross, Marvin Gaye and Muhammad Ali, symbolizing an exciting and dangerous time. And then Spider found two things that saved his life: His wife Jackie and boxing. “The Sweet Science” taught Jones much more than uppercuts and jabs. He channeled his troubles into his training and confirmed in the process the confidence and the self-esteem deep down he knew he always had. “I look at boxing as a metaphor for life,” he says frankly. “I’ve met many great people in the boxing field, many talented young men that never made it because when they got knocked down, they couldn’t get up and go back into the battle. Life is like that. You’re either a champ or a chump to me. You know what, just because you’ve been denied, declined, rejected, not promoted, doesn’t mean you should lie down and roll over. Get up and keep in the fight. Get back in the fray, like all the greats did.” Spider struggled after renouncing the streets, working menial sales-type jobs while boxing, trying to keep on the straight and narrow. Jackie was tremendously supportive, always looking to help and ultimately encouraged Spider to enroll in college. He saw the writing of his fourth grade education on the wall and reluctantly agreed to take action. Still, Spider encounters some casual resentment for marrying an Irish woman to which he effortlessly replies, “I Helping Kids TKO Low-Self Esteem A Award-winning journalist’s new book latest effort to help children foster positive self-images. Eye of the Spider A Teacher’s Manual based on Out of the Darkness will be published and distributed throughout schools in Ontario. In 2003, Spider was named Ontario’s first ambassador for skilled trades Spider was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996 Spider was the co-TV host for the shows Famous Knockouts and Famous Fights along with good friend and fellow Canadian Boxing Hall of Famer George Chuvalo Spider was part of then Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali’s entourage for his epic fights against Chuvalo in 1966 and again in 1972 8 Canada’s #1 Urban Newsmag FOUR Page 2: