Windsor native Charles “Spider” Jones came from humble beginnings, with crime and jail time marking his youth. 

But he turned things around, becoming a radio host, Golden Glove boxer who got in the ring with Muhammad Ali as he trained, and now, an author and motivational speaker. In 2020, he was awarded the Ontario of Ontario.

Jones joined CBC Windsor Morning‘s Nav Nanwa ahead of being honoured Saturday with the Black Business and Professional Association’s Harry Jerome Lifetime Achievement Award. 

“I was humbled and honoured,” Jones told CBC News. “I didn’t see it coming, I didn’t know until I got the call I had been nominated. 

“It’s a wonderful feeling to be honoured by the community you worked so hard in to bring a better life to, especially young people.”

Jones credits meeting and befriending legendary boxer Muhammad Ali with helping set him on the right path in his mid-20s. 

“Muhammad Ali validated something I always wanted to be, a radio jock,” Jones said. “When I brought it up, Muhammad Ali very much encouraged me and even said when I got my radio show he’d be my first interview.

“He wasn’t far off. He became my second interview. My first was Tina Turner.”

Now, just a week after his 80th birthday, Jones is still busy speaking to youth, running a youth centre in Toronto and writing a book — and receiving the Black Business and Professional Association Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday. 

“I’m not ready to slow down yet,” he said. “I’ve been blessed with good health, thank God for that, so I’m doing what I love doing right now. My passion is inspiring people to pursue their dreams.”

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.