In the year 1986, he completed his graduation from an institution called Jackson Central-Merry High School. Jones received his B.S. in communication and political science from the University of Tennessee at Martin. During this period, Jones also worked as an intern at the Jackson Sun (Tennessee), the Shreveport Times (Louisiana), and the Associated Press (Nashville bureau). Deciding against journalism, eventually, he moved to Connecticut and joined Yale Law School from 1990 to 1993. He has been a part of various activism programs such as Rodney King verdict and Bay Area PoliceWatch. He was involved in another huge seminar or programs to relate all the racism issues and he named it as Colors of Change. 

By profession, Jones is an American activist, commentator, author, civil rights advocate and non-practicing attorney. After graduating from UT Martin, he began working as an intern in various newspapers like the Jackson Sun in Tennessee, the Shreveport Times in Louisiana and the Associated Press in Nashville bureau. From June 2011 to 2014, he was a president in an American center left political organization rebuild the Dream. Similarly, he was a host of the show Crossfire in CNN from June 2013 and 2014. He was also a former president Obama Administrator advisor. At present, he is a commentator in CNN since November 2012 and the president of The Dream Corps which is a social enterprise and incubator for powerful ideas and innovations designed to uplift and empower the most vulnerable in our society.

Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Jones and James Rucker co-founded a Web-based grassroots organization to address Black issues, called Color of Change. Jones amicably parted ways with Color of Change within two years after founding the group.

By 2005, Jones had begun promoting eco-capitalism and environmental justice. The Green-Collar Jobs Campaign was Jones' first effort to combine his goals of improving racial and economic equality with mitigating environmental damage. He worked to establish the nation's first "Green Jobs Corps" in Oakland. In September 2007, Jones attended the Clinton Global Initiative and announced his plans to launch Green for All, a new national NGO dedicated to creating green pathways out of poverty in America.

In 2009, Jones worked as the green jobs advisor to President Barack Obama. In this role, Jones helped to lead the inter-agency process that oversaw the multi-billion dollar investment in skills training and jobs development within the environmental and green energy sectors. Jones resigned on September 5, 2009, saying he had been the subject of a "vicious smear campaign" by "opponents of reform.
In 2010 Jones received appointments at Princeton University, as a distinguished visiting fellow in both the Center for African American Studies and in the Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

He started his professional career in television. His civil service activities helped him a lot to progress in his career. He was part of a seminar on racism; his efforts and input were highly appreciated. His Colors of Change workshop cemented his way into the showbiz profession. CNN noticed his work on the eradication of Ebola virus; they offered him a contract to host their show Cross Fire. Cross Fire was the breakthrough he got and then he never stopped.