There is current social merit that also deserves consideration in this application. 780 Steele Street became the residence of Judge Raymond Jones. Jones’ arrival represented the diversity that is essential to the life of the current neighborhood. A Pueblo native, Raymond Jones has contributed much to Denver and Colorado. In 1988, Raymond Jones became the first African American appellate judge in Colorado. He has worked in Denver specializing in construction law, arbitration and litigation in addition to his 32 years as a judge. Jones is a former visiting professor of political science at Colorado College, Denver District Court judge, assistant professor at Metro State University, and an active award-winning community volunteer.
Joane Davidson wrote about him in The Denver Post published January 2012: “In 1965, at the height of the American civil-rights movement, Raymond Dean Jones was a sophomore at Colorado College, majoring in political science. When news of the three Selma to Montgomery marches reached him, Jones stuffed a change of clothes into a bag, stuck out his thumb and hitchhiked to Alabama to take part. It turned out to be a life changing experience for the Pueblo native, the sixth of nine children who after receiving a law degree from Harvard embarked on a career that included 15 ½ years spent as a judge on the Colorado Court of Appeals. “After those marches, I knew there’d be no way I would ever tolerate injustice,” Jones declared at the 22nd annual presentation of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award.”